CHICAGO (AP) — A man charged with storing deadly powdered cyanide in part of Chicago's downtown subway system had fled charges of vandalizing Wisconsin utility systems, authorities said.

Joseph Konopka, 25, formerly of De Pere, Wis., was charged Monday with possession of a chemical weapon after federal agents found sodium cyanide and potassium cyanide in a Chicago Transit Authority storage room underneath the city's downtown Loop district.

Officials didn't want to speculate about why Konopka allegedly had the chemicals.

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