Man sentenced to prison in machete incident in Utz | Local news

Reuter said the attempted kidnapping charge was “added at the preliminary hearing” based on what was discovered during a search of Apgar’s backpack.

According to Reuter, in addition to the machete, the backpack also contained cable ties, a rubber rope, Gorilla tape, a pack of Robitussin and a bottle of Fireball Cinnamon Whisky.

According to Reuters, Apgar was sentenced on Monday to two to five years in a state reformatory, plus five years’ probation.

Reuter praised and thanked “the Utz and Conewago Township police officers for their quick action to prevent the incident from escalating further.”

A woman claimed she was working at Utz Quality Foods Inc., 101 Kindig Lane in Conewago Township, when “Apgar approached her, grabbed her by the waist and confessed his love for her,” the probable cause affidavit states.

The woman rejected him before the supervisor intervened, the affidavit states.

Apgar was also accused of attacking his former supervisor with a “large knife” that was later described as a “machete,” the affidavit said.

The supervisor “disarmed” Apgar, who was detained by about six co-workers before his arrest, the affidavit states.

On December 8, 2023, at 12:58 p.m., Conewago Township Police Sergeant Kevin O’Brien was called to the scene “because an employee had attacked his boss with a knife,” his affidavit states.

When he arrived, “several staff members detained a man” identified as Apgar, the affidavit states.

The supervisor claimed he was informed that a former employee “was in the building with a large knife sticking out of his backpack” and that “an altercation ensued” during which the supervisor allegedly “disarmed Apgar before several employees assisted in restraining him,” the affidavit states.

The supervisor was “the hero of the story,” said Conewago Township Police Chief Gary Baumgardner, who described the knife as a “machete.”

The supervisor suffered a minor injury and was treated at the scene by emergency medical services, while the accused was taken to the hospital for evaluation, Baumgardner said. No other injuries were reported, he said.

Apgar was reportedly “drenched in sweat and incoherent,” so O’Brien “asked Apgar what he had taken and he stated cough syrup,” the affidavit states.

A company representative confirmed, according to the affidavit, that “Apgar was fired two days before the incident.”

“At least 30 employees were present” when the incident allegedly occurred in the back of the packaging department, where “normal operations were interrupted or suspended during the incident and investigation,” the affidavit states.