Venice resident demanded $180,000 to refrain from poisoning baby food headed for Santa Monica store
By Daily Press staff
MID-CITY — A local man faces up to 25 years in federal prison for threatening to put boric acid and glass shards in baby food products at Ralphs grocery stores, according to a plea agreement signed last week.
David Dickinson, 43, a British national who lives in Venice, was arrested on May 5 after stopping at the Santa Monica Ralphs on Cloverfield Boulevard to retrieve a debit card tied to an account set up for him with $180,000, the plea says.
At the time of his arrest, Dickinson said he attempted to blackmail Ralphs because he needed money for his 5-month-old son’s college education.
According to the agreement, which was signed by Dickinson and prosecutors, Dickinson on Feb. 24 sent a package to Ralphs corporate headquarters in Ohio containing baby formula poisoned with boric acid, a jar of horserad-ish with boric acid, a jar of baby food containing glass shards and an infant juice drink laced with hydraulic fluid. The package also contained a note from Dickinson demanding money in exchange for keeping the poisoned foods off the shelf.
“This is a blackmail demand, pass to persons able to deal with such matter. Keep out,” the note reportedly said.
On Mar. 1, Dickinson sent a second letter to Ralphs headquarters, according to the plea. In it, he demanded $180,000 be placed into an account and Ralphs distribute 9,000 debit cards that could be used to access the account.
Dickinson demanded the debit cards be distributed to Ralphs customers in Santa Monica, San Diego and San Ramon. He also demanded an advertisement for a German tuba be placed in the Los Angeles Recycler, a regional publication for classified advertisements, and instructed that the ATM code to access the $180,000 be listed in the ad as the tuba’s model number.
Ralphs personnel followed the instructions.
A surveillance team at the Santa Monica Ralphs later spotted a man on a bicycle who fit the description of Dickinson, who had been identified from a video at the Venice Post Office where Dickinson mailed the original package. Dickinson made a purchase and received one of the debit cards, the plea says.
In May, special agents with the FBI searched Dickinson’s home, at which time they found a yellow jacket and other clothing items he was wearing when he mailed the tainted food products to Ralphs. Investigators also found drafts of the extortion letter on his computer.
Dickinson, being held without bail, faces two felony charges of extortion and tampering with consumer products. He will be sentenced Feb. 18 by United States District Judge Dean D. Pregerson.
The case was handled jointly by the FBI and the Food and Drug Administration, which received help from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 6, 2004. Read the original PDF.