Lawrence County man sentenced in milk tampering case
Published 10:55 am Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Alfred Thornhill, 42, of Sontag, was sentenced Tuesday to 18 months in federal prison followed by one year of supervised release for tampering with milk, according to U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis.
Thornhill was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,000.
Thornhill was employed at a dairy farm near Crystal Springs, when he poured chlorine, acid and bleach into a stainless steel container of milk right after the milk had been collected from the cows on March 28, 2014, according to Davis. The toxic chemicals were discovered in the milk by the farm’s owner just before the milk was to be picked up for transportation to a distribution center in New Orleans. The contents of the caustic agents were confirmed by a lab analysis conducted at Mississippi State University.
According to evidence disclosed during the guilty plea hearing, Thornhill confessed to USDA-OIG Special Agents that he poisoned the milk because he was angry at the dairy farm owner and intended to ruin the milk in order to financially harm the dairy farmer.
This case was investigated by the USDA- OIG and the Mississippi Agriculture Theft Bureau. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Scott Gilbert.
A previous news release stated that Thornhill lived in Wesson.