A Texas teen was arrested after allegedly drinking from an Arizona Iced Tea bottle in Odessa, Texas, before placing it on the shelf, it was reported.
The 15-year-old boy, who was not named, was seen on surveillance camera footage at an Albertson’s supermarket.
15-year-old Texas boy arrested for spitting in Arizona tea bottle, returning product to supermarket shelf https://t.co/zMDHcvXktI
— fox8news (@fox8news) July 17, 2019
He believed the drink was “gross” after drinking from the bottle, local station KOSA reported.
The teen was charged with tampering with a consumer product, considered a felony. The teen was placed in a juvenile detention facility in Odessa.
According to NewsWest 9, an officer was sent to the store after an employee saw the teen allegedly tamper with the Arizona Tea drink. Two officers then reviewed the footage and saw the teen drink from the bottle before placing it on the shelf.
KOSA reported that he also spit into the bottle.
United Family, which operates the supermarket chain, said in a statement to NewsWest 9 that it takes “the safety of our guests and the integrity of our products very seriously.”
“We take the safety of our guests and the integrity of our products very seriously. The product tampering on Monday was the first incident reported in our company and came with second-degree felony charges against the juvenile accused of this crime. We appreciate the vigilance of our asset protection team. Anyone caught tampering with products in our stores will be reported to the police for prosecution. We remind our guests to always check their products to ensure safety seals are intact and the item has not been compromised. If they notice anything suspicious, they should alert store management immediately and return the product for a full refund,” the chain said.
Ice Cream Incidents
A Louisiana man was arrested after licking a tub of Blue Bell ice cream before putting the container back, apparently in a copycat attempt of a similar viral video.
The video shows the man, identified in news reports as Lenise Martin III, licking the ice cream at a supermarket in Louisiana. Two children were reportedly nearby.
Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office arrested Martin on July 6, reported WAFB.
Texas police identify ice cream licker as juvenile girl #news3now https://t.co/1oz5b2dPEu
— News 3 Now / Channel 3000 (@WISCTV_News3) July 6, 2019
“It was a joke with no criminal intent or activity … but I was locked up with murderers and real criminals on [maximum] security,” said Martin in an interview with the WVLA, which showed him smiling and holding the ice cream.
Days before that, police located and identified a teen from Texas who licked ice cream at Walmart before putting it back. The video of the incident went viral, drawing horror from people on social media. “You foul,” says a voice off-camera in the clip.
Louisiana man faces charges after licking Blue Bell ice cream, putting it back in freezer (seriously) 👇
https://t.co/kIwlsO7idh— NOLA.com (@NOLAnews) July 8, 2019
The teen’s name was not revealed by police as she is a juvenile, CBS News reported on July 5, adding that detectives have spoken with the suspect. They won’t be releasing her name to the public because she is a minor.
