A suspect is in custody after possibly contaminated Halloween candy was reported Monday in South Chicago Heights, NBC 5’s Alex Maragos reports.
A person is in custody after Halloween candy that was possibly contaminated was reported and turned in to police in South Chicago Heights on Monday, according to officials.
The candy thought to be contaminated appeared as yellow gummy bears inside a black plastic zip-up pouch with no branding or print. Police said the candy was reported to them by a mother and grandmother of a child on Cherry Lane in the southern suburb.
For Jose Villareal, who found the candy in his children's bag, said that the unlabeled packaging immediately served as a red flag.
"We put our cell phone flashlight up to it and you could see flakes of, I imagine, marijuana, and it looked like speckles on the actual gummies," Villareal said.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter here.
Villareal added that an odor immediately filled the room after opening the bag and that they contacted police.
"Someone trying to harm my children, my family, children in general, it's not right," Villareal said.
According to South Chicago Heights Police Chief Bill Joyce, kids who were trick-or-treating were helpful in apprehending the suspect.
Local
"The kids were great, because they remembered there were chairs out in front and they remembered where the guy came out of the door," Joyce said.
Joyce added that the bags had a noticeable odor of cannabis, although lab tests are ongoing for the gummies.
Police are asking anybody who may have received these gummy bears to turn them into police as soon as possible.
Police said they are currently unaware of any instances of a child ingesting the gummy bears, and that a suspect has been charged with five counts of child endangerment.
Anybody with information or packages of the candy in question are asked to contact police at 708-755-3520.
