Man Tampered With West Hollywood Supermarket Foods: Prosecutors

LOS ANGELES, CA — A transient had a bizarre habit of pouring bleach into market refrigerators and freezers containing ice beer or seafood, federal prosecutors alleged Thursday.

Authorities were alerted to the alleged crimes after customers smelled something fishy that had nothing to do with the frozen seafood. They alerted store employes at markets from Orange County to Los Angeles, and security footage showed a man tampering with the freezer foods.

David Clare Lohr, 48, is charged in Los Angeles federal court with tampering with consumer products. The felony charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years behind bars. Lohr allegedly poured bleach into freezers from Dana Point to Manhattan Beach, West Hollywood and Los Angeles. Investigators allege he is suspected of similar crimes in Arizona and Northern California.

No injuries were reported from six alleged attacks, which allegedly began in April 2016 in a Dana Point market before ramping up again last November with attacks in Los Angeles and Manhattan Beach, in December in Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach and in January in West Hollywood.

According to the FBI, the agency was notified by supermarket investigators in Los Angeles about a man seen on videotape in December and January entering markets, grabbing bleach from store shelves and pouring it into freezers that contained packaged consumer products.

A six-count indictment filed last month charges Lohr with alleged attacks dating back to April 2016 in a Dana Point market, then resuming last November with attacks in Los Angeles and Manhattan Beach, in December in Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach and in January in West Hollywood.

Lohr was arrested last month by Santa Clara County sheriff's deputies in Sunnyvale after authorities received a report of a man spreading white powder and hydrogen peroxide on a public bus. The powder was later determined to be salt, federal authorities said.

Sheriff's deputies discovered the federal arrest warrant for Lohr after taking him into custody at a bus stop. Authorities said Lohr also allegedly poured hydrogen peroxide on or near rotisserie chickens at a Sunnyvale supermarket.

Lohr previously appeared in federal court in Northern California. He is also charged in Orange County and Arizona on similar allegations, officials said.

Lohr is believed to have most recently lived as a transient in short- term lodging throughout the state and has been known to use public transportation to move between cities, according to the FBI.

Earlier this month, a federal magistrate judge in Los Angeles ruled that Lohr could not be released pending trial due to danger to the community and risk of flight.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.