Man Accused of Putting Mouse Poison on Food Carts Charged

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ANN ARBOR, MI – Kyle Bessemer, the 29-year-old Ann Arbor man accused of contaminating food with a mixture containing commercial mouse poison at area grocery stores, was arraigned Thursday on four felony food poisoning charges.

Ann Arbor 15th District Court Judge Elizabeth Pollard set Bessemer’s bond at $250,000, and set house arrest as a condition of his release during his arraignment on two counts each of poisoning food, drink, medicine, or water supply causing property damage and poisoning drink, medicine, or water supply.

Each of charges is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, the FBI said.

See Also

• FBI Says Man Put Mouse Poison on Food: List of Affected Stores

Bessemer was arrested Tuesday after the FBI distributed surveillance photos of him at the stores.

Besides the Tomcat-brand commercial mice poison, the compound Bessemer is accused of spraying on food also included water and hand sanitizer, the FBI has said.

The charges are related to Bessemer’s admission that on April 24, he sprinkled the mixture on produce and olive bar items at two Ann Arbor grocery stores: Whole Foods Market, 990 W. Eisenhower Parkway; and Meijer, 3145 Ann Arbor-Saline Road, The Ann Arbor News reports.

Additionally, the FBI said investigators are looking into whether Bessemer also poisoned food at 12 other stores. A complete list of potentially affected stores is found here.

Bessemer has a history of mental health problems and believed someone was trying to poison him, according to court documents.

Michigan public health officials don’t anticipate any adverse health effects among individuals who may have ingested the potentially contaminated products, but Jamie Clover Adams, director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, advised consumers to dispose of any foods they may have purchased from the affected stores salad bars, olive bars and ready-to-eat hot and cold food areas from mid-March and the end of April.

“Although most of these types of foods may have already been eaten or disposed of, some may still be in refrigerators or freezers,” Adams said in a statement, adding the advisory was issued “out of an abundance of caution.”