A 68-year-old Illinois man has been accused by federal prosecutors of inserting sewing needles into packaged ground beef for more than a year at a supermarket in his hometown, according to The Associated Press.
The man in question, Ronald Avers of Belleville, was charged Wednesday with seven felony counts of tampering with consumer products, the AP reported.
The FBI alleges in court filings that a Shop 'n Save grocery store reported on July 9 at least seven cases since May of last year in which sewing needles were found in packaged meat products, according to the AP. The store reported seven incidents, all of which were associated with its location on North Belt West Road in Belleville.
The criminal complaint alleges one customer found a needle in her mouth while eating and another reported being stuck in the hand, the AP reported. Other customers said they found needles in the meat they bought but were not injured, and on one occasion, an employee detected the presence of a needle in a meat product.
A message left with Avers' federal public defender wasn't returned and he remained jailed Thursday, according to the AP.
Avers has been charged with a criminal complaint on July 30 with seven violations of the Product Packaging Protection Act of 2002, according to the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, the AP reported.
"Shop 'n Save conducted an internal investigation and provided information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation which directly led to the identification of Ronald G. Avers as a suspect," Wigginton said, according to the AP.
"I want to assure the public that, while our investigation is ongoing, we do not, at this time, believe that the suspect acted at any other markets or stores, or that he was working with any other persons. I commend the time, money and effort that Shop 'n Save expended in assisting investigators in this case. As a corporate citizen, their assistance to law enforcement was invaluable" Wigginton said, the AP reported.
Avers appeared in federal court in East St. Louis on Thursday, July 31 for an initial appearance and a detention hearing will be held on August 4, according to the AP. Each violation of the Act carries a term of imprisonment of up to 10 years, a fine of up to $250,000 and a term of supervised release of up to three years.
