Man Charged With Assault For Making People Sick

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Man Arrested For Assaulting People With A Poisoned Handshake

Lansing, Michigan -- A man has been jailed on assault charges after a prosecutor, police officer and courtroom bailiff became seriously ill after shaking hands with him.

During a Dec. 21 court appearance on a traffic charge, John Ridgeway pulled out a vial of an unknown liquid, rubbed his hands with the contents and insisted on shaking hands with the three people, authorities said.

All of them got sick within an hour, suffering from nausea, headaches, numbness and tingling that lasted about a day. Two sought treatment at a hospital.

The FBI was running tests on the substance to identify it.

Ridgeway, 41, told officials the vial contained olive oil, according to prosecutor Keith Kushion. He was not the prosecutor who fell ill.

"I have never seen the likes of this," Kushion said. "Nobody else has, either."

Neither Ridgeway nor his attorney immediately returned calls for comment.

Ridgeway could get up to six years in prison if convicted.