Connecticut man who left razor blades in trick-or-treating children's candy bags on Halloween arrested
Police arrested a 37-year old man in Connecticut on Halloween this year after parents found razor blades in the candy bags of at least two kids in an area in Waterbury, about 35 miles southwest of Hartford.
The razor blades were determined to have come from the home of Jason A. Racz. According to a police statement, "Racz explained that the razor blades were accidentally spilled or put into the candy bowl he used to hand out candy from." The suspect did not provide any explanation as to how the razor blades were handed along with the candy to the children. Luckily, the razors were found separately and not in the candy, according to the police.
There was also a 3-year-old child present at the home of Racz who had access to the box of razor blades that were seized and logged into evidence. Parents of the children in the area took to Facebook to warn others, with one parent, Kristi Leigh Barbera, writing, "I went to confront them and they apologized & claimed it was an accident & fell in the candy bucket while hanging decorations."
Racz was charged with risk of injury to a minor, reckless endangerment and interfering with a police officer. According to the police, he is being held on a $250,000 bond and is awaiting arraignment.
Meanwhile, about an hour away in Waterford, parents discovered that kids were handed packages of gummy candies labeled "Shake and Baked". Each bag contained ten small colorful gummy cubes, packed with 10 milligrams of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis.
The THC-laced candy is dangerous especially to kids and is illegal. Ingestion can cause intoxication, altered perception, anxiety, panic, paranoia, dizziness, apnea, and heart problems. The laced candies were handed out to at least two minors.
The authorities do not believe it to be a widespread problem or a targeted incident and no arrests have been made up to this point. The police said the investigation is ongoing.
No injuries have been reported, nor have any child been reported to consume the THC-laced candy.
Authorities have been warning parents to check their children's bags of candies after trick-or-treating to make sure no unwanted objects are accidentally consumed.