Houston-area woman accused of mailing bombs to Abbott, Obama, benefits agency
A Houston-area woman accused of mailing bombs to Gov. Greg Abbott and former President Barack Obama previously said she was being set up.
Julia Poff was indicted in federal court this month for a trio of 2016 mail bombs, including a botched explosive stuffed in a cigarette pack that failed to detonate when the governor opened it.
The 46-year-old was “upset with Greg Abbott, Texas Attorney General, because she had not received support from her ex-husband,” according to federal court documents.
Using a salad dressing cap from a bottle purchased for an anniversary dinner, Poff allegedly cobbled together an explosive with black powder and pyrotechnic powder, then slipped it in the mail to governor. When Abbott opened the package in early October 2016, it didn’t blow up because he didn’t open it as designed.
“Had the device exploded, it could have caused severe burns and death,” according to court documents.
Agents working the case later found a dam-
aged shipping label addressed to the mail bombing suspect, from when she originally had received the packaging through eBay.
Sloppy packaging
A similar package sent to Obama was detected in screening and never made it to the intended target.
“Poff had stated she did not like the President,” according to court documents.
A sloppy packaging job on the D.C.-bound explosive helped build the case against the accused bomber. After diverting the package, agents discovered that cat hair caught in the shipping label was “microscopically consistent” with the hair of one of Poff ’s pets, according to court records.
A third package was sent to the Social Security Administration in Maryland, where Poff had been denied benefits.
A search of Poff ’s home turned up a trove of fireworks in the garage, according to court records.
In an unsolicited Facebook message asking for prayers and PayPal donations to cover legal fees, Poff told a Chronicle reporter in October that trash had been taken from her family’s home that “had our fingerprints on it” and was “used in some serious crimes that we did not commit and know nothing about.”
She also was charged with more than $5,000 of food stamp fraud and false bankruptcy declaration. A federal public defender on Thursday declined to comment.
Criminal history
Court records note that Poff has been evicted repeatedly, in one case allegedly leaving a rented home with potatoes stuffed down the toilets and cement poured in the drains.
Her criminal history includes a misdemeanor theft conviction, which netted deferred adjudication and probation that later was revoked, according to court records. She also was convicted of felony fraud.
Last year, using a Sealy mailing address but describing herself as a Waller County resident, Poff sued her leasing company’s manager for allegedly calling her a “purple Martian from hell,” according to paperwork filed in Harris County court.
The suit also claimed that the Cypress Four Property Ventures manager “verbally attacked” Poff on the phone and described her as a “professional squatter.” A judge ultimately tossed the case.
Poff later accused the judge of corruption.
Last Friday, a federal judge ruled against releasing Poff, citing a “serious risk that the defendant will flee.”
The case is due for a pretrial conference early next year.