LAS VEGAS -- A federal grand jury has indicted an unemployed graphic designer on charges he possessed the deadly poison ricin and weapons.

Roger Von Bergendorff, 57, faces three counts: possession of a biological toxin, possession of unregistered firearms and possession of firearms not identified by serial number.

He was hospitalized for two months with suspected ricin poisoning and has been in jail since he was released from Spring Valley Hospital.

Tuesday's indictment also includes an allegation that would let the government confiscate the weapons seized from Von Bergendorff's Extended Stay America motel room several blocks off the Las Vegas Strip in February.

Police were contacted about the toxin after hotel owners called Von Bergendorff's friends to clear the room. Von Bergendorff -- who had been in the hospital since Feb. 14 -- had not paid his bill.

While his friends were collecting his belongings, they found the ricin in a medical vial inside an envelope and some castor beans, police said. They turned the powder over to hotel officials as soon as it was discovered.

Authorities contend that Bergendorff made the ricin as part of a scheme to hurt unspecified enemies, but was not a terrorist plot.

During an interview with The Associated Press, Eric Von Bergendorff -- Roger's brother -- said Roger Von Bergendorff admitted that the poison was easy to make and that he created it for "protection purposes."

If convicted, Von Bergendorff could face up to 30 years in federal prison and a $750,000 fine