Posted on 08/01/2017 3:04:36 PM PDT by nickcarraway
A San Jose man was sentenced Tuesday to six months in jail for selling a cockroach and bedbug pesticide he claimed to be safe to use inside homes, Santa Clara County prosecutors said.
According to the district attorney's office, Julio Pino Reyes, 46, sold a dangerous pesticide that he re-bottled and re-sold to people with a claim that it could kill cockroaches and bedbugs. Three people, including two small children, went to a hospital after being exposed to it.
"Pesticides are poisons with a purpose," Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Bud Porter said in a statement. "They should not be sold out of the back of a pickup truck."
Exposure to the pesticide can cause nausea, shaking, dizziness, rapid heartbeat and confusion.
The powder was sold at flea markets, through Facebook and OfferUp ads, in addition to print ads in a Spanish-language magazine. Prosecutors said that tests showed a high concentration of acephate, which isn't approved for in-door residential use.
The Santa Clara County Division of Agriculture alerted the district attorney's office to the sale of the powder.
In addition to the jail sentence, Reyes was also placed on three years' probation, ordered to pay $9,000 in lab costs and $4,000 in victim restitution.
Anyone with questions about the safe use of pesticides is asked to call the California Department of Pesticide Regulation at (916) 445-4300 or can email them at cdprweb@cdr.ca.gov.
seriously? they couldn’t have bothered to tell us what the pesticide actually WAS???
I heard of a family last year, whose lives were ruined due to insecticides being wrongfully applied under a vacation residence. This may be the same family. A father about mid-30’s and two young sons. The mother, for some lucky reason got mildly sick, but recovered. The rest of the family now have permanent neurologic disorders. The dad can no longer walk period, and must be in an automatic chair. If this is the same family, I’m surprised the sentence is so light, meaning longer time in prison.
The article references high levels of “acephate”, whatever that is.
Acephate is the chemical name for the remaining colinesterase inhibitor sold in the US. http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/acephagen.html It has been off patent for many decades.
I am most familiar with it under the brand name of Lescophate, but I believe that is only sold by Lesco, and they refuse to sell to people without a commercial applicators license.
The article also mentions him selling it at flea markets and through ads in Spanish-language magazines. Given his Hispanic name, I’d consider one possibility is that he acquired the product in Mexico and then smuggled it into the US for sale. Of course, he could have bought (or stolen) it from a licensed commercial operation. The article has nothing regarding how he may have acquired it.
Ain’t supposed to drink the stuff.
Note to self: Don't buy pesticide at a flea market.
What are the odds that this guy is an illegal?
If the pesticide worked, all the fleas would be dead?
This WAS CAUSED by the nanny CA government BANNING any pesticide that actually works.
Actually, it’s the opposite. The state allows various state and local agencies to spray all kinds of harmful substances.
I disagree.
Try to find an off the shelf product to kill fleas in your back yard(my problem).
There is nothing available.
And the state never makes rules for themselves, just for the ‘little guys’.
I too have a flea problem in my back yard.
Diatomaceous earth helps a little with fleas.
Kills cockroaches real good, too.
Can be rubbed on dogs and cats. Can be eaten.
Was once indicated as an anti-tapeworm treatment for dogs: 5% of the total weight of their food.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.