Drew Manns in the Lorain County Common Pleas Court Credit: Screencap of a Morning Journal video (link below)

Drew Manns in the Lorain County Common Pleas Court

  • Screencap of a Morning Journal video (link below)
  • Drew Manns in the Lorain County Common Pleas Court

Drew_Manns.jpg

An Elyria man currently in prison for setting fire to a Lorain County Community College building was indicted by a federal grand jury this week, accused of mailing threats and a “white powdery substance” to the Summit County prosecutor’s office.

Drew Manns, 31, was sentenced last year in the Lorain County Common Pleas Court to five years in prison for the 2009 fire that caused more than $8 million in damage to the Lorain County Community College’s business building (see the Morning Journal story on that). According to state records, Manns is currently housed at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient, Ohio.

From prison last August, he’s accused of sending letters to the criminal division of the Summit County prosecutor’s office that contained both threats to injure someone there and a “white powdery substance” that he said was anthrax.

Read the full indictment here:

This article appears in May 6-12, 2015.

Doug Brown is a staff writer at Scene with a passion for public records laws and investigative reporting. A native of Ann Arbor, Mich., he has an M.A. in journalism from the Kent State University School of Journalism and Mass Communication and a B.A. in political science from Hiram College. Prior to joining Scene, Doug was a contributing writer for Deadspin.com, reporting behind-the-scenes stories about college sports through public records and developing sources. Doug's work as an enterprise reporter for the Daily Kent Stater was recognized by the Cleveland Press Club (2013 Ohio Excellence in Journalism Awards), Society of Professional Journalists (regional and national Mark of Excellence Awards), and the Associated Collegiate Press. He spent the summer of 2012 working for the Metro desk of the Cleveland Plain Dealer and spent previous summers working for Outside Bozeman Magazine and Crain's Detroit Business. His website is dougbrown8.com.