Man will plead guilty to putting razor blades in pizza dough [View all]

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A man accused of putting razor blades and screws into pizza dough sold at ‘Hannaford’ chain grocery stores last year will plead guilty to a federal crime. A federal grand jury indicted Nicholas R. Mitchell in March on two counts of tampering with a consumer product. An agreement filed in court this week shows Mitchell has agreed to plead guilty to one of those counts and accept a sentence of up to 4 years and nine months in prison. If the judge imposes a longer sentence, Mitchell has the right to appeal. The penalty for the tampering charge could be up to 10 years.

Mitchell, 39, was arrested in October after police in Saco, Sanford and Dover, New Hampshire, began investigating reports that customers had found razor blades and metal fragments in Portland Pie Co. pizza dough sold at Hannaford supermarkets. There were no reports of injuries or illnesses from the tampering.

Mitchell was initially charged in state court with reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon and violating the conditions of his release, which prohibited him from engaging in new criminal conduct or possessing dangerous weapons, including razor blades.

Mitchell had been fired last summer from his job as a forklift operator for It’ll Be Pizza, the Scarborough company that manufactures pizza doughs to be sold in Hannaford and other grocery stores. The first reports of food tampering surfaced a few months later.

https://www.pressherald.com/2021/06/08/man-will-plead-guilty-to-putting-razor-blades-in-pizza-dough/