Man Who Once Threw Taco At Taco Bell Employees, Winds Up In Hospital After Ingesting Rat Poison
A Colorado sheriff's office is investigating how a man — who earlier in the day threw a taco at Taco Bell employees — wound up in the hospital after ingesting rat poison that had been in his food.
"Right now what we're looking at is if the rat poison was actually put into his food at the restaurant. We don't know if it was at this point in time," Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office Deputy John Bartmann told CBS News Colorado.
It happened at a Taco Bell in Aurora Colorado. According to CBS News, the whole situation started when a man started complaining about the restaurant's drink fountain.
According to CBS News, Bartmann and Taco Bell manager Larry Swift said the man entered the restaurant at 1PM Sunday. This man began asking for "something free" because of his struggles with the drinking fountain.
The Taco Bell staff were reported to be all too familiar with this gentleman. He had caused scenes inside the same location before, even throwing a taco at employees on one occasion.
The man argued with staff and fellow diners, then ordered three burritos. He was given a fourth burrito free of charge, according to the manager.
A pair of Taco Bell burritos, or, perhaps, one burrito cut in half. (Photo by Joshua Blanchard/Getty Images for Taco Bell)
Things Took A Turn When The Man Enjoyed His Taco Bell Burritos Later That Evening
The man ate the burritos at 7PM that night, according to authorities, and became severely ill.
No, not "I had Taco Bell for lunch so I need to stay close to home for the rest of the day" ill. So ill, that he had to be taken to the hospital.
"That hospital said they had a patient who has possibly consumed rat poison in his food from the same restaurant," Bartmann said. He also confirmed that enough rat poison was found in the burrito that "it "would have been very serious to our victim's health."
The sheriff's office closed the restaurant that same night and launched an investigation. That investigation is still active, and according to Bartmann, it's categorized as "criminal attempt homicide."
However, there's still uncertainty as to how rat poison got in the burrito. Swift said that the restaurant turned over surveillance footage to investigators.
"We don't carry poison in the restaurant," she said, per CBS News Colorado. "We didn't do anything like that. It didn't even add up. It's ridiculous."
CBS News Colorado received a statement from Taco Bell.
"The safety of customers and team members is a priority. The franchisee who owns and operates this location has informed us that they are working with local authorities in their investigation."
We'll have to keep an eye on this investigation to see how this one shakes out. There will definitely be some more details to emerge about this one.
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