NY man arrested in baby food poison video threats
Criminal Law
A man was arrested Thursday after he allegedly claimed in hoax Internet videos that he had poisoned millions of bottles of baby food, some with cyanide or rat poison, because he wanted to kill black and Hispanic children.
Gerber Products Co. and the Food and Drug Administration have found no evidence of tampering with Gerber products. The company was flooded with complaints after people saw the videos, the FDA said.
Authorities said Anton Dunn caused to be posted on the Internet three videos of himself in which he boasted about the poisonings and said he could not be caught.
Dunn, 42, of New York, was charged with sending threats in interstate commerce and falsely claiming to have tampered with a consumer product, crimes that carry a potential penalty of 10 years in prison upon conviction.
A U.S. District Court judge ordered Dunn held until a bail hearing on Tuesday. His lawyer, Sarah Baumgartel, had no comment outside court.
In a statement, Gerber's parent company, Nestle Nutrition, said it believed the Internet postings were a "malicious hoax" and the company was cooperating with authorities.
"The safety of Gerber and Nestle Nutrition products is our top priority," it said.
In court papers, FDA agent Michael Felezzola wrote that a Gerber representative on April 20 reported a threatening video entitled "gerbersbabyfoodalert" had been posted on YouTube.
In the 10-minute video, apparently recorded in a shower stall, a man identified as Trashman said Gerber employees acting at his direction had poisoned millions of bottles of baby food with the intent to kill babies.
Authorities said the person appearing on the videos was Dunn and he sometimes wore a mask that partially covered his face. Subsequent videos stated that the poisoning would involve cyanide and rat poison, and that four babies had already died.
Dunn, who is black, claimed in a July 24 video that he was trying to kill black and Hispanic babies, though white babies also were likely to die, authorities said.
"Our main reason for doing this is we're trying to cut down on the black population," the video says.
Related listings
-
Sharpton faces disorderly conduct charge at trial
Criminal Law 07/29/2008The Rev. Al Sharpton rejected a plea offer Monday and will go to trial in September on a disorderly conduct charge related to demonstrations over the fatal shooting of an unarmed man on his wedding day.Sharpton declined to plead guilty in exchange fo...
-
Alleged SF computer saboteur's bail request denied
Criminal Law 07/24/2008A judge on Wednesday refused to reduce the $5 million bail of a San Francisco technology expert accused of rigging the city's computer system to malfunction during routine maintenance.Terry Childs has been jailed since July 13 on four felony counts o...
-
Louisiana asks court to reopen child rape case
Criminal Law 07/22/2008Louisiana prosecutors asked the Supreme Court on Monday to revisit its recent decision outlawing the death penalty for people convicted of raping children.The unusual request is based on the failure of anyone involved in the case — lawyers on both si...

New Rochelle, New York Personal Injury Lawyers
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, contact Kommer, Bave & Ollman, LLP, in New Rochelle, New York, immediately. We can answer all your questions and work with you to determine if you have the grounds for a personal injury lawsuit. The attorneys at our firm are determined to resolve even the most difficult of cases. We will work closely with you to determine the best course of action to get your claim or case resolved in the most efficient way possible. We will fight for your right to compensation! No one should have to suffer a financial burden from the result of another person’s carelessness. The attorneys at Kommer, Bave & Ollman, LLP will aggressively fight to ensure that justice is served on your behalf.