Co-Worker Poisoned in Salon Feud, Woman Sentenced

Gaithersburg, MD — A simmering dispute between two women who worked at a Gaithersburg salon ended with one woman in the hospital after she was poisoned by a co-worker, who will spend 10 days in jail.

Luz Lemonfield, 28, of Frederick, was sentenced Tuesday in Montgomery Circuit Court after earlier pleading guilty to poisoning her co-worker at Bluemercury Spa. Lemonfield faced a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison.

Prosecutors say Lemonfield poured a skin-care product into the water bottle of co-worker Sophia Santa Cruz, who drank the water, vomited repeatedly and went to the hospital.

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Lemonfield's attorney says she was not trying to kill Santa Cruz but was only retaliating after a month-long fight. The day before the poisoning Santa Cruz reportedly spit on Lemonfield’s food.

"It was wrong and stupid. She admits it. But she did not mean to kill her or to cause serious physical injury,” said Lemonfield’s attorney, Jim Shalleck.

After her jail time, Lemonfield will be on probation for 18 months.

Santa Cruz told WUSA9 she was disappointed by the short jail sentence. Prosecutors wanted Lemonfield to serve 18 months in prison.

Santa Cruz testified that she lives in fear and her attacker’s apologies in court did not seem sincere.

“Justice was served and she’ll not do it again,” said Ramon Korionoff of the State’s Attorney’s Office.