Woman puts needles in food, gets 3 years

A Canadian judge sentenced a "mean and malicious" Alberta woman to three years in prison for putting needles and pins into food at a Calgary supermarket. Tatyana Granada, 45, was convicted of four counts of mischief and trespassing in February and was sentenced Tuesday, Postmedia News reported. She was charged with shoplifting at the Oakridge Co-op in December 2009 and given a verbal ban from returning to the store. Between January and March 2010, four food items at the store were found with pins and other sharp objects in them. Judge Gerald Meagher issued a harsh rebuke in handing down the prison sentence. "This was mean and malicious behavior, escalating against the co-op," the judge said. "She embarked on a program of harassment that escalated in planned and deliberate fashion over a period of two months against the co-op with reckless disregard for the harm to the community." No-one was injured by the bread, cheese and vegetables that had been damaged. Granada pleaded guilty to the shoplifting charge, but has consistently claimed she is innocent of food tampering. However, prosecutors used the store's video security footage showing her in the four days when the items were tampered with, the report said.