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Charges sought in prank pot brownie case
Victim hospitalized after severe reaction to laced treat, reportedly from SR co-worker

February 17, 2004 | The Santa Rosa Press Democrat

By RANDI ROSSMANN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

An employee of a Santa Rosa natural foods company was given a marijuana-laced brownie as a possible joke and Santa Rosa police are asking prosecutors to file felony charges against the suspected prankster.


The victim, Enrique Sanchez, 29, of Santa Rosa, suffered a violent reaction from the drug and was hospitalized overnight, Sgt. Brian Davis said.


The suspect is a 57-year-old Santa Rosa man who currently is on administrative leave from Amy's Kitchen, where the incident occurred, Davis said.


Amy's Kitchen is one of the nation's leading natural food companies, employing hundreds of Sonoma County workers in the production of frozen organic, vegetarian food dishes. It has offices in Santa Rosa and Petaluma.


Davis declined to identify the suspect, pending a decision by the District Attorney's Office on whether to prosecute the case.


"We're at a loss for a motive, other than the guy wanted to see what a straight-laced, good employee is like when he has some," Davis said.


Co-workers, who thought Sanchez might have been poisoned, phoned police following the Jan. 28 incident. Officers also heard from Sanchez after he got out of the hospital.


Sanchez is a maintenance worker at one of the company's facilities in southwest Santa Rosa and during a 1 a.m. break, he was offered a brownie by another maintenance man, Davis said.


Within about 15 minutes he became violently sick. Co-workers called for an ambulance. Sanchez was treated at the scene and was hospitalized, and the next day he continued to shake and have double vision, Davis said.


Sanchez had eaten about half of the brownie and detectives sent the other half to a Santa Rosa crime lab, Davis said.


Tests showed the chocolate treat contained marijuana.


Detectives got a search warrant for the suspect's home and seized some items, including marijuana, Davis said.


The District Attorney's Office is reviewing the report and considering whether to file two charges against the man. Davis said the charges requested are mingling a harmful substance with food and furnishing marijuana to someone, both felonies, Davis said.


At Amy's Kitchen, a representative declined to comment on the reported incident.


"We turned it over to the police and trust that they'll take appropriate action," said Cincy Gillespie, Amy's human resources director.


You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 521-5412 or rrossman@pressdemocrat.com.

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