KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WZZM) – A man who put cat food and prescription pills inside vitamin containers at several Meijer stores in southwest Michigan last summer has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison.
Brian Francis Conover also was ordered by U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney to spend one year on supervised release and pay nearly $13,400 restitution to Meijer for product tampering in Kalamazoo, Calhoun and Allegan counties.
Conover, 35, "committed this offense so that he could get vitamins and supplements without paying for them,'' defense attorney Ray Kent wrote in a sentencing memorandum. "He was stealing the supplements and vitamins because they were too expensive for him to purchase.''
It wasn't the theft so much as the adulteration that caused an uproar; 22 packages were returned or found on store shelves containing foreign objects including cat food, chocolate chips and pain killers. He faced up to 10 years in prison.
The adulterated items were returned to Meijer stores between late July and mid-August for refunds or store gift cards. Meijer officials reported the product tampering on Aug. 20.
"He did not believe that the returned products would be resold,'' Kent wrote.
Conover left for Minneapolis in mid-August to start college, but returned to Kalamazoo County when he learned he was under investigation. Conover has been behind bars since his Sept. 2 arrest in Kalamazoo.
His mother reported that Conover "did not care about others'' while his brother described him as a "scammer,'' court documents show.
He has a long history of substance abuse problems, including use of alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and muscle relaxers, court records show.
Conover "presents as a man with poor impulse control,'' Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Mekaru wrote in asking for a stiff sentence. "In essence, Conover does what he wants to do with little or no concern for others and the rules.''
