A Tucson woman was sentenced to probation Tuesday, after pleading guilty to felony charges of child abuse and fraudulent schemes last month, court officials said.
Jennifer LaPlante was sentenced to seven years of probation for the fraudulent schemes charge and four years for the child abuse charge, said Pima County Superior Court spokeswoman, Krisanne LoGalbo.
The sentences will run concurrently, LoGalbo said.
LaPlante was arrested in May, after a baby was taken to the hospital shortly after eating a bottle of Gerber Soy formula that his mother told police "had a strong chemical smell," according to documents from the Tucson Police Department.
Police learned that the formula the baby ate came from a Fry's store on the east side of town. After talking to employees, police discovered that the specific container had previously been returned to the store by LaPlante, who was responsible for returning several other cases of formula, the documents show.
When police interviewed LaPlante, she told them replaced the contents with a mixture of sugar, flour and rice cereal, then secured the lid back on with adhesive, before returning the containers to the store, the documents show.
LaPlante admitted to returning tampered cans to at least four stores around Tucson, mostly on the east side, the documents show.
LaPlante was initially charged with eight felonies in connection with the scam, but in a September plea agreement, prosecutors dismissed six of the charges in exchange for her guilty plea on two charges, said Deputy Pima County Attorney Daniel South.
