FRUITPORT TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WKRC) – A man deployed a cloud of noxious pool chemicals as a distraction so he could shoplift from Meijer without being noticed.
According to information from police obtained by local outlet WZZM, officers responded to a Meijer on September 24, 2024 after receiving reports of a noxious gas inside the building. Upon arrival, first responders confirmed the presence of a “small gaseous cloud” that smelled like chlorine.
Officers looked around the area and found a plastic bottle that was emitting the noxious gas, which investigators determined was a pool-cleaning chemical. The store had to be evacuated for the safety of customers, and four people were hospitalized in connection to the incident.
Police reviewed security cameras and learned that a man, identified as 39-year-old Alexae Johnson, created the distraction in order to steal between $1,000 and $2,000 worth of goods.
“We watched him load his cart up full of a bunch of electronics, and he’s watching that area where, it was a bottle, like a pop bottle, 20-ounce pop bottle, and as soon as that dispersed, he was watching down that aisle, he immediately went for the exit of the store and left,” Deputy Chief Greg Poulson told WZZM.
Local outlet WWMT reported that Johnson was arrested roughly a month after the incident, and was charged with first-degree retail fraud and placing an explosive device with intent to alarm.
In August of 2025, Johnson pled guilty to two counts of retail fraud by theft and one count each of placing an explosive device with intent to harm and being a habitual offender, Law&Crime reported. Johnson was sentenced to five to 50 years in prison on Thursday.
