A Fort Worth father who filed a police report claiming a neighbor placed a razor in a Halloween treat made up the story and put the razor in the candy himself, police say.
An arrest warrant affidavit for Charles Pruitt was released Friday detailing the investigation and the charge of filing a false police report.
Pruitt told police he was going through his children's Halloween candy when something cut his finger. Upon closer examination, Pruitt said, he discovered a razor blade had been inserted into a Rice Krispy treat.
Pruitt then notified the police department and, retracing his family's steps on Halloween night, said the treat came from a neighbor's home.
Detectives later executed a search warrant on the neighbor’s house “following investigative leads developed from the father’s statement,” said Fort Worth police Sgt. Steve Enright said in an email Thursday.
The resident denied knowing anything about the incident and “provided evidence contrary to what detectives were told by the child’s father,” Enright said. The resident also told police he purchased candy at Wal-Mart and had never before handed out Rice Krispy treats.
Investigators returned to Pruitt and his wife and asked to see his razor blades. The couple allowed the search and police said they found a Gillette Pro Fusion razor with a missing "Precision Trimmer" blade. Police said the blade found in the treat was a match for the missing blade on Pruitt's razor.
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The neighbor was questioned again, who told police he used a Gillette swivel razor -- which was not a match for the one found in the treat.
During a subsequent interview, police said Pruitt began crying as he confessed to putting the razor in the treat and said he'd even cut his finger in the process.
No other arrests are expected, police said. A motive for the report against the neighbor has not been released.
It is not known if Pruitt has obtained a lawyer.
Charles Pruitt Arrest Warrant Affidavit
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The case was one of several across the U.S. where authorities said reports of dangerous Halloween treats turned out to be unfounded.
In Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, the families of an 11-year-old and 12-year-old apologized after the children recanted stories about needles discovered in Twix bars. Elsewhere in the state, a girl who cut her mouth with a razor blade admitted making up a story about finding the blade in her candy, NBC10 reported.
Police in Salisbury, Maryland, said a teenager admitted making up a claim that he found a sewing needle in a piece of Twizzlers candy, NBC Washington reported.
NBC 5's Frank Heinz contributed to this report.
