A Michigan man could spend the next several decades behind bars after using a chemical-dispensing device to distract employees at a grocery store while he was shoplifting.

In August, Alexae Kamron Johnson, 39, pleaded guilty to two counts of retail fraud by theft, and one count each of placing an explosive device with intent to alarm, and being a habitual offender.

On Thursday, Muskegon County 14th Circuit Court Judge Annette R. Smedley sentenced him to between five and 50 years in prison.

The underlying incident occurred in September 2024 at a Meijer on Harvey Street in Fruitport Township – a small charter township located roughly 35 miles northwest of Grand Rapids.

On the day in question, an “unknown, noxious gas” was reported at the store, according to a Fruitport Township Police Department report obtained by Kalamazoo-based CBS affiliate WWMT.

First responders immediately noted the presence of a “chemical cloud” in the center of the store reeking of chlorine, police said.

Police also described the occurrence as a “small gaseous cloud,” according to Grand Rapids-based ABC affiliate WZZM.

Investigators eventually discovered the source of the cloud and stench – a small plastic bottle in the home goods section dispensing swimming pool-cleaning chemicals into the air, police said.

After the ensuing chaos and removal of the chemical-spewing implement, four people had to be treated for presumed chemical exposure at a local hospital; they were soon after released.

And, amid the distraction, Johnson made off with a haul of some $1,000 to $2,000 in top-dollar merchandise, authorities said.

“He was in that area for a long period of time, in that direct area, without getting any further into it,” Fruitport Deputy Police Chief Greg Poulson told WZZM. “We watched him load his cart up full of a bunch of electronics, and he’s watching that area where, it was a bottle, like a pop bottle, 20-ounce pop bottle, and as soon as that dispersed, he was watching down that aisle, he immediately went for the exit of the store and left.”

The defendant was arrested in early November 2024, according to a press release issued by the police department at the time.

On Thursday, Johnson addressed the court, saying he was in the throes of a mental health crisis at the time and should have obtained professional help, according to a courtroom report by WZZM.

The judge, however, did not much credit that allocution – saying his actions harmed people and he deserved a stiff stint in prison.

On the day of the incident, the Muskegon County Hazardous Materials Response Team had to ensure the store was safe before business could resume, WZZM reported at the time.