Crater Lake worker called Visine poisoning a ‘harmless prank’

by Mark Freeman of the Mail Tribune

Monday, October 7th 2019

A food-service worker at Crater Lake National Park escaped jail time Monday after he admitted severely sickening two co-workers by putting Visine eyedrops in their water bottles in 2016, authorities said.

Christopher Michael Morrison, of Chula Vista, California, was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Medford to 200 hours of community service and two years’ probation after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor assault charges, court records show.

Morrison worked in the park’s employee dining room, which was near a prep kitchen where several employees kept water bottles, according to federal court documents. On two occasions in 2016, Morrison put Visine drops in the water bottles of two co-workers, including his supervisor, records show.

Both became extremely sick, with the supervisor saying she experienced severe nausea and pain that she described as “almost like hot pokers, almost like labor pain,” court documents show.

A few days after becoming ill, the supervisor overheard Morrison bragging about putting Visine in her water bottle, and she later learned that her daughter almost drank from that bottle, records show.

Law enforcement officials tested the water bottle and found it contained tetrahydrozoline, the active ingredient in Visine, which can cause respiratory distress, coma, blurred vision, diarrhea, seizures and other complications when ingested.

When questioned by Department of the Interior agents, Morrison admitted he intentionally put the Visine in one of the victim’s water bottles as a “harmless prank” after first researching Visine poisoning on the internet, court records show.

The investigation revealed that at least a dozen employees experienced similar symptoms during the same period, court documents show.

Morrison pleaded guilty in April to two counts of simple assault, which is a Class B misdemeanor under federal law. Federal laws applied because the crimes were committed on National Park Service land.

Morrison could have faced up to six months in federal prison, but prosecutors did not recommend prison time because of Morrison’s willingness to admit his guilt and his minimal criminal history, which included one conviction for selling counterfeit videos, according to the government’s sentencing memorandum.

Federal prosecutors had requested 200 hours of community service for each count, but U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark Clarke halved the request during Monday’s hearing. However, prosecutors asked only for one year of probation while Clarke opted for a two-year probationary term.

 

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