Lawyer hospitalised after injecting blood into supermarket food
A LAWYER who injected his own blood into supermarket food and threw an egg at a security guard has been hospitalised.
Leoaai Elghareeb, 38, caused panic in the aisles of a Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose store after he jabbed products, including an apple, bacon and chicken tikka fillets, with syringes.
The three stores, which were based on Fulham Palace Road, had to carry out a deep clean and throw away all their products as a precaution, resulting in nearly £500,000 in losses. Elghareeb was found not guilty by reason of insanity following a trial last year at Isleworth Crown Court.
Appearing on May 3 via videolink, Elghareeb only spoke to confirm his name and was hospitalised under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act to continue his ongoing psychiatric treatment.
The court heard that on August 25, 2021, he had left his home in Fulham with a bucket full of hypodermic needles and syringes with his own blood. He threw one syringe at a doctor as he walked past, however this luckily only bounced off her collarbone and caused no injuries.
He then entered the Waitrose store and was seen on CCTV throwing syringe caps and sticking needles into packets of food. Once staff realised what had happened, customers were encouraged to drop their shop and leave before they closed the store.
Elghareeb then moved into Sainsbury’s and continued to stick syringes into ready meals and food products. When confronted by a security guard, he pushed him in the chest and threw an egg while shouting “you are all vile people”.
He continued his behaviour in Tesco, causing the three stores to close early and remove their products. Afterwards, the lawyer was seen walking past a tapas bar called Avanti where he threw a plant pot through the front door, narrowly missing a waiter.
He was detained and arrested a short while later by the Met Police. During the deep clean and search of the supermarkets, 21 syringes were found and removed. A search of Elghareeb’s home found that he had removed light bulbs from their light fittings and coffee granules were over the floor.
Jurors heard Elghareeb believed he was under the control of spies and living in a version of The Truman Show, having suffered mental health problems over the previous 12 years. He has since been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia that involved “paranoid and persecutory delusions and voices”
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Nicholas Larsen said Elghareeb’s mental state had ‘not changed significantly’ since last year.
Kyria Argyropoulos, defending,
said: ‘The present case was one where Mr Elghareeb was very much making a cry for help, trying to get himself noticed by the police which he succeeded in doing. Everything we heard today suggests there is a very good and considered safety net surrounding whatever happens to Mr Elghareeb in the future.”
Judge Hammerton said: “The food contaminated offences concerns you contaminating food through the injection of a syringe, each were clearly visible, and you made no effort to disguise your actions. Whilst the three stores suffered substantial financial loss it is fortunate no physical harmed occurred and no evidence that serious physical harm was a likely consequence of your actions.”