Texas boy, 15, seen spitting into bottle of tea and putting it back on supermarket shelf arrested following outrage
A Texas teen has been arrested and charged after a camera at a supermarket caught him spitting into a drink and putting it back on the shelf.
The teenager, 15, who has not been identified because of his juvenile status, was caught after the police in Odessa were notified about the incident by an employee at Albertson's supermarket who had witnessed it, according to CBS7.
Corporal Steve LeSueur of the Odessa police confirmed the incident in a sworn affidavit which stated that it had unfolded at the supermarket on North County Road West on Monday, July 15. He said he watched a security camera video of the incident with the asset protection manager and saw the teen pick up a bottle of Arizona Tea, put his mouth on it, then put it back.
The affidavit said before police officers arrived at the scene, the teen confessed to the asset protection manager that he also spit in the drink.
When confronted by the police, the teen reportedly told them that he took a drink of the tea and then put it back because it was "gross." The Odessa teen is facing the charge of tampering with a consumer product, which is a second-degree felony. He is currently being held in the Ector County Youth Center.
The arrest came at a time when a similar fad has been doing the rounds across the country. We had previously reported that a woman had posted a video of herself taking out a tub of Blue Bell Ice Cream from a grocery store refrigerator, removing its lid, and giving the ice cream a lick before putting it back.
The Lufkin police department later identified the girl in the video and issued an arrest warrant on second-degree tampering with a consumer product. She faced 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 if convicted, but escaped without any punishment after authorities discovered she was not an adult.
A few days later, the police arrested a copycat prankster who posted a similar video online that showed him licking ice cream straight from a tub at a supermarket in Belle Rose, Louisiana, and then putting it back. The man, identified as 36-year-old Lenise Martin III, was not as lucky as the teen and was charged with the unlawful posting of criminal activity for notoriety and publicity and tampering with property.
The past week, Florida woman Cori Ward was arrested and charged after she uploaded a video on Snapchat that showed her underage daughter licking a tongue depressor and then placing it back with the unused depressors at a Jacksonville doctor's office.