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The AFU and Urban Legend Archive Food burger spit
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The AFU and Urban Legend Archive Food burger spit
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From: dblais@indirect.com (David Blais)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: var: ejaculation in food
Date: Wed, 22 May 1996 13:24:55 -0700
Here is a series of article on this case from the incident to sentencing.
NewsBank, inc. - The Arizona Republic - 1990 - Article with Citation
OFFICER'S BURGER
Date: December 12, 1990 Section: Valley And State
Page: B1 Edition: Final Chaser
Length: Short : 48 lines
Author: By Abraham Kwok The Arizona Republic
Text:
A 20-year-old fast-food worker has been arrested after he allegedly
blew his nose into a hamburger that he served to a Phoenix police
officer and then laughed about it.
George J. Kuehme, who had been on the job for less than a week, reportedly told a co-worker, ''That's what the cop gets'' as he tainted the food, police said.
Kuehme, of the 2400 block of East Willetta Street, was accused by police of aggravated assault, adding a harmful substance to food and disorderly conduct. He was being held at a Maricopa County jail in lieu of $3,425 bail.
''This is like pulling a gun on an officer,'' said Sgt. Kevin Robinson, a Phoenix police spokesman. ''He intentionally tried to injure or provoke the officer.''
Kuehme, who declined to be interviewed Tuesday, would face up to 45 months in prison if he were charged formally and convicted of the two felonies and one misdemeanor police are recommending to prosecutors.
The incident occurred about 8:30 p.m. Monday when Officers Gary Underhill and David Duron placed an order at the drive-through window at Jack in the Box, 1001 N. 24th St., police said.
The officers left with their food, responded to a forgery call then sat down to their meals, police said.
Underhill reportedly took three bites into his hamburger when he noticed ''nasal mucus'' on his hands and face, according to Officer Leo Speliopoulos, a police spokesman.
''It was a repugnant act,'' Speliopoulos said.
Underhill and Duron returned to the restaurant and spoke to the shift manager, Aaron Gulsarry, who confronted Kuehme, police said.
Kuehme reportedly admitted the prank but offered no reason for his action, authorities said. He was immediately fired by Gulsarry.
''We are shocked and horrified at the information reported by the officer,'' said Jan McLane Rieger, a spokeswoman at Jack in the Box corporate headquarters in San Diego.
The restaurant closed early Monday night as a result of ''the commotion'' caused by the arrest, she said.
Underhill complained of stomach pains after the meal and expressed concern about catching communicable diseases, Duron wrote in his report.
Underhill, however, required no medical treatment.
Copyright:
(c) 1990, Phoenix Newspapers Inc.
CHARGE LANDS MAN IN JAIL
Date: December 21, 1990 Section: Metro
Page: B2 Edition: Final
Length: Medium: 63 lines
Author: By J.W. Brown, THE PHOENIX GAZETTE
Text:
A judge has found that blowing one's nose in a police officer's Jumbo
Jack hamburger is repulsive -- but it is not a felony.
George Kuehme, 20, was charged with aggravated assault for allegedly tampering with a Phoenix police officer's hamburger while it was being prepared at a Jack-in-the-Box restaurant.
But during a preliminary hearing on the charges Thursday, Commissioner Stephen Ventre of Maricopa County Superior Court sent the case to Justice Court, where misdemeanors are adjudicated.
''As repulsive as this activity may have been . . . I'm unable to find it constitutes a felony,'' Ventre said. ''You're relying heavily on this being a police officer. He's not hired to eat. He's hired to be a police officer. He was not performing an official function.''
Ventre said Officer Gary Underhill's uniform ''may have enticed the action.''
Underhill testified at the hearing that he wanted to throw up after taking several bites of the hamburger and finding a mucous substance on his face and hands. He also said he suffered stomach cramps.
Deputy County Attorney Stephen Smith unsuccessfully argued that tampering with the hamburger was like spitting on a police officer, which is a felony.
A felony aggravated assault charge is punishable by a maximum 22-month prison term. A misdemeanor assault charge carries a maximum two-year probation term with up to four months in jail.
As Kuehme was leaving the courtroom, he was arrested by Underhill and his partner, Officer David Duron, on an outstanding misdemeanor shoplifting warrant. He was handcuffed, taken from the courthouse and booked into a county jail, where he remained last night.
Phoenix police spokesman Kevin Robinson said he wasn't sure why the outstanding warrant wasn't known about earlier. He said Kuehme was going to be arrested regardless of the outcome of the court hearing.
The criminal charges stemmed from a Dec. 10 incident when Underhill and Duron stopped at a Jack-in-the-Box at 1001 N. 24th St. about 8:30 p.m. and ordered some food at the drive-through window.
Later, when Underhill started to eat the hamburger, he said he ''noticed a clear, sticky substance on my burger, chin, four fingers of my right hand. It came from my hamburger.''
He said he and Duron believed it was nose mucous and headed back to the restaurant after contacting their supervisor. Underhill admitted he was angry.
Underhill said that while they questioned the restaurant workers, Kuehme told them, ''All I did was put sauce on it.''
Underhill testified that he replied: ''I've been on this Earth 28 years and have blown my nose a million times. That's not secret sauce on it.''
Kuehme allegedly admitted blowing his nose on the officer's hamburger. Kuehme then was arrested. He also was fired.
On cross-examination by defense attorney James Haas, Underhill acknowledged he did not see Kuehme cook his food, doesn't know who wrapped the hamburger and said Jumbo Jack hamburgers have a sauce on them. He also said he has physically recovered from the incident, but said he had a blood screening test the night of the incident that will be repeated in three months and six months to make sure he has not contracted any communicable diseases.
Copyright:
(c) 1990, Phoenix Newspapers Inc.
Date: January 18, 1991 Section: Valley And State
Page: B8 Edition: Final Chaser
Length: 141
Author: Compiled from reports by The Arizona Republic.
Text:
A Phoenix man accused of blowing his nose onto a hamburger served to a
police officer was ordered Thursday to stand trial May 2 on two felony
counts of aggravated assault.
George Juan Kuehme, 20, of the 2400 block of East Willetta Street, received the trial date after Stephen Ventre, Maricopa County Superior Court commissioner, entered pleas of innocent to the two charges on behalf of the defendant.
Kuehme, a cook at the Jack in the Box restaurant at 1001 N. 24th St., was arrested Dec. 10 after he allegedly blew his nose on one of the hamburgers ordered by two officers. He was fired from the fast-food job.
Article type:
CRIME & COURTS
Copyright:
(c) 1991, Phoenix Newspapers Inc.
Date: November 14, 1991 Section: Metro
Page: B2 Edition: Final
Length: 421
Author: By J.W. Brown, THE PHOENIX GAZETTE Index Terms: SENTENCE
PRISON
Text:
A former fast-food cook was sentenced to 45 days in jail, three years
probation and 750 hours of community service for tainting a Phoenix
police officer's hamburger with mucus.
George Kuehme, 20, on Wednesday pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was immediately sentenced for the incident.
Officer Gary Underhill reportedly is ''extremely angry'' over what happened, according to court documents, and called Kuehme's actions ''revolting . . . cowardly and backhanded.'' Underhill has undergone three AIDS tests over the past year as a result of eating part of the tainted hamburger, according to the case file.
He also said his family has suffered embarrassment, and he has been the brunt of jokes at work and church.
Kuehme had worked at the Jack-in-the-Box restaurant at 1101 N. 24th St. a week when the incident occurred. About 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 10, Underhill and his partner, David Duron, ordered and received food and beverages from the drive-in window, and immediately got a call to investigate a forgery report at a nearby drugstore.
It wasn't until they completed that call that Underhill bit into the hamburger and realized it was tainted. He and Duron returned to the restaurant to investigate. Kuehme reportedly admitted blowing his nose on the hamburger after preparing it, according to police reports.
Kuehme ''refuses to accept responsibility,'' for his actions, said Laura Lanich, the deputy adult probation officer who wrote the pre-sentence report on his case.
She recommended Kuehme perform community service ''to enhance his awareness of his behavior and provide him with the opportunity to give something back to the community.''
On Aug. 27, Kuehme pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, but the plea was rejected by Judge Peter D'Angelo of Maricopa County Superior Court on Sept. 24, the day Kuehme was to be sentenced.
The case was reassigned to Judge Colin Campbell, who accepted a new plea agreement Wednesday.
Kuehme originally was charged with a felony. He pleaded to a misdemeanor and will begin his jail term Wednesday.
He does not have to pay restitution to Underhill for medical exams or for the treatment Underhill received Dec. 10 when he went to a clinic with stomach cramps.
Underhill received a financial settlement from Jack-in-the-Box several months ago.
Copyright:
(c) 1991, Phoenix Newspapers Inc.
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From: dblais@indirect.com (David Blais)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: var: ejaculation in food
Date: Wed, 22 May 1996 13:28:57 -0700
I wouldn't want to just pick on Jack in the Box, here is an article from Phoenix in reference to an incident at Arby's. This case does involve analyzing the burger. Didn't work out to well though.
Headline: COP'S BEEF IS NOTHING TO SPIT AT ARBY'S EMPLOYEE ALLEGEDLY
SLOBBERS ON OFFICER'S MEAL
Date: December 16, 1994 Section: Metro
Edition: Final
Page: B1 Word Count: 449
Author: By Chris Moeser, THE PHOENIX GAZETTE
Text:
Officer Joel Tranter wanted an Arby's Super but got a slobber sandwich
instead.
The Phoenix police motorcycle officer ordered the roast beef sandwich Thursday night at Arby's, 119 E. Baseline Road -- then watched as an employee spit on his meal.
Tranter didn't eat. He held the drool-covered sandwich for evidence. But Vern Hancock -- another officer who arrived just before Tranter -- had already devoured his meal when Tranter made his discovery.
It was unknown whether anyone tampered with Hancock's meal. ''First they're shooting at us. Now they're spitting in our food. What else can they do?'' said Sgt. Mike Torres.
The employee, Jeremy Todd Hinrichs, 16, was detained by police and likely will be booked on suspicion of misdemeanor aggravated assault on a police officer.
He was fired pending the outcome of the investigation. Tranter pulled into the restaurant for his lunch break about 7:30 p.m. After he ordered, he watched from across the counter as Hinrichs spit on his sandwich, police said.
When Tranter confronted Shellee Murdock, another Arby's employee, she tried to confiscate the evidence, police said.
''She wanted to trade sandwiches on him and he wanted it for evidence,'' Torres said.
The incident sparked a three-hour investigation that included detectives, the night duty captain and sent Arby's officials scrambling for cover.
Joe Reddin, regional vice president of Arby's, issued a written statement on behalf of the fast-food chain.
''We apologize to our guest for any inconvenience this situation may have caused.''
In a similar incident, Officer Gary Underhill received an undisclosed settlement in 1991 from Jack In The Box after an employee admitted to blowing his nose on the officer's burger.
Underhill ate the burger.
The employee, George Juan Kuehme, pleaded guilty to a charge of
aggravated assault and was sentenced to 45 days behind bars and three
years' probation.
Tranter didn't speak with reporters, but Torres said the officer was ''dumbfounded'' by the incident.
As for Tranter's would-be meal, it was sealed inside a clear-plastic evidence bag and whisked away to the crime lab -- along with an identical sandwich without the drool.
The incident left some officers at the restaurant wondering how pure their food has been.
''His buddy (Hancock) ate his,'' one officer said outside the restaurant. ''God knows how many I've had in my eight years.''
Copyright 1994 Phoenix Newspapers Inc.
Accession Number: 9412280484
Column: THE VALLEY PAGE
Headline: NO CHARGES FILED IN POSSIBLE FOOD DEFILING
Date: February 7, 1995 Section: Metro
Edition: Final
Page: B2 Word Count: 118
Author: From GAZETTE staff and wire reports.
Dateline: PHOENIX
Article Type: Brief
Text:
A 16-year-old Arby's employee suspected of drooling in an officer's
sandwich won't be charged with a crime, police said.
Police believe Jeremy Hinrichs spit in the sandwich Dec. 15, but the city attorney decided not to charge him. Officials say they couldn't prove that there was spit in the sandwich, because an enzyme that indicates saliva occurs naturally in the roast beef sandwiches.
Hinrichs couldn't be reached for comment Monday evening. He has denied the allegations.
Copyright 1995 Phoenix Newspapers Inc.
Accession Number: 9502080415
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From: dblais@indirect.com (David Blais)
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.urban
Subject: Re: var: ejaculation in food
Date: Wed, 22 May 1996 13:32:03 -0700
Hey, is there something in the water in Arizona?
Headline: COUNTY JAILERS FEAR THAT INMATE-PREPARED MEALS ARE TAINTED
Date: May 4, 1995 Section: Front
Edition: Final
Page: A1 Word Count: 567
Author: By Roberto Sanchez, THE PHOENIX GAZETTE
Index Terms: PRISON
FOOD
EMPLOYEE
Text:
Guards at Maricopa County jails must be brave and have guts of steel. And
that's just to eat lunch.
Some detention officers in the maximum security areas of the county jails, who often eat the same food served to inmates, are trying to get their bosses to give them an alternative to institutional corn dogs and bologna sandwiches.
Their problem is not with the type of food. Corn dogs in the jail are as bland as corn dogs on the outside. The bologna, sometimes blue from runny food coloring, is just as nutritious as real bologna.
But because the jail food is cooked by inmates, officers are concerned they may be getting a little extra something with their meals.
''The only problem with that is that the inmates sometimes urinate in food, spit on the food, regardless of whether it goes to an inmate or a detention officer,'' said Bruce Levitch, a training officer who used to work in the maximum security areas.
''It's nasty. You don't have enough people looking over their shoulders to make sure they are not doing it,'' he said.
Levitch, president of the guard's union, has proposed to the Sheriff's Office that employees deduct money from each paycheck to have safe food delivered to the county jails for their meals.
The plan would apply to officers working in high security jail areas who cannot leave their posts during their nine-hour shifts. These officers now bring their own lunch, eat what the inmates eat, or go hungry.
''We just want something that is nutritious, a sandwich, a piece of fruit . . . that's what we are talking about. Nothing elaborate,'' Levitch said.
He figures that employees who want to join the plan would have $1 a day deducted from their pay-checks. Between 600 and 800 meals a day would be served, saving the county that many meals from the jail kitchen. Annually, that could save the Sheriff's Office $116,000, Levitch claims.
Deputy Chief Larry Wendt said he can understand why detention officers want different food.
''I definitely think that if you have an option between a double cheeseburger with french fries and a chocolate shake, vs. a 30-cent meal (from the jail), I would lean toward the cheeseburger, you know what I mean?'' Wendt said.
He said the proposal probably will be approved by the Sheriff's Office
''I'm going to do everything I can to make the working conditions better for my officers,'' he said. ''It's a tough environment to work in a jail. If this can be done without security or legal problems, I'll do it.''
However, Wendt was concerned that any kind of separate food for detention officers could be tampered with by inmates.
Wendt said reports of inmate cooks tampering with food probably are exaggerated. There has not been any documented case of inmates doing so this year, he said.
''I don't think that's currently very widespread because officers and inmates eat the same food,'' he said. ''A trusty (inmate worker) doesn't know if he will have to eat the same food later on.''
Copyright 1995 Phoenix Newspapers Inc.
Accession Number: 9505050039
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