OAKDALE, California — An Oakdale father was arrested this week after a police investigation into tainted Halloween candy proved that the father, now identified as Mathew Blackcloud, put metal into the candy himself.
Last Halloween Blackcloud, 32, filed a police report, saying that he found small, metal objects in several packaged chocolates that his kids received while trick or treating in the Burchell Hill neighborhood.
No other reports came in, the Oakdale Police Department said in a statement Friday, but Blackcloud's report of dangerous objects in candy caused serious concern in the community.
Since the investigation began, the father's story remained the same - he had no idea how the metal objects got into the candy.
Following evidence and using forensic examinations, detectives came full circle back to the Oakdale father who first reported tampered candy — Mathew Blackcloud.
The 32-year-old was arrested for a false report of food tampering after detectives came to the conclusion that he put the metal objects into the candy himself before he turned them over to the police on Oct. 31, 2018.
“I want to thank the tenacious efforts of our investigators and our local and federal partners, along with the Serological Research Institute Forensic Lab, for their assistance in bringing closure to this case," said Police Chief Scott Heller.
Chief Heller also thanked the community for its donations during "Operation Halloween 2.0," in which the children who turned in their possibly tainted candy to the department were given candy donated by the community so they wouldn't be "robbed of their trick or treating."
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