SALINE, MI - A 47-year-old Adrian woman lost her job after police determined she put laxatives in a departing co-worker's going-away brownies.
Police were called on May 3 to MMI Engineered Solutions, 1715 Woodland Drive in Saline, after the company received a tip from an employee that the woman planned to put laxatives in brownies she was bringing to a send-off for another worker, said Saline Police Chief Jerrod Hart.
The company intervened, confiscated the suspect brownies and called police before the brownies could be eaten, Hart said.
When interviewed by police, the 47-year-old initially denied putting laxatives in the brownies, Hart said. But when informed the brownies would be forensically-tested for tampering, she admitted to baking in a cube of laxatives, police said.
But police learned from other employees, though the suspect denied it, that there may have been some previous tension between the departing employee and the 47-year-old woman, Hart said. The nature of the spat was not immediately known.
Though police say the woman admitted to tampering with the brownies, Hart said no charges will be pursued.
No one ate the brownies and the company fired her, he said. The matter would be different had someone consumed the food.
Hart said the incident is normally something school-age children should be reminded of - that tampering with food isn't a joke, especially as allergies and medical concerns may not be known.
"A lot of times you see it in movies or TV shows where someone tries to do this or play a joke, but it's very serious," he said. "It's a criminal act."
"... There's just so much going on in the world, to create a problem like this is unnecessary and it's criminal," he said.
A representative for MMI Engineered Solutions declined to comment.