Crime & Safety
Duo Disguised Veggies as Pot, Sparked UMass Shelter-In-Place
A botched drug deal in which two men tried to pass off the vegetables as marijuana caused widespread panic on the campus, prosecutors said.
FRAMINGHAM, MA - Prosecutors in court Tuesday said a February shelter-in-place order at UMass-Amherst stemmed from a dispute following the attempted sale of shredded vegetables being passed off as marijuana.
The detail was revealed in court as 22-year-old Shawn Wyatt was granted $15,000 bail. He was also ordered to stay away from campus.
Wyatt and William McKeown, 19, have both pled not guilty to charges related to attempting to sell vegetables to a student at UMass, passing them off as marijuana. When that failed, prosecutors say the two men hit the student with a BB gun and stole $120.
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The Feb. 18 incident triggered a shelter-in-place order as panic swept across campus and police searched for possible gunmen.
McKeown turned himself in the next day, while Wyatt handed himself over to authorities March 16. Both men are Framingham residents.
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They have been charged with armed robbery, assault and battery, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. McKeown was released on $7,500 bail.
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