Three teenagers in Florida have been arrested after restaurant surveillance footage captured them spitting into food they were preparing for uniformed deputies who stopped for dinner at the Highway 55 Restaurant on April 27.
The Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Department stated an anonymous person notified the owners of the restaurant their food had been tampered with after the incident occurred, according to a press release.
The owners of the restaurant checked video footage from their kitchen and observed their three employees spitting in the meals intended for the deputies.
“It was later discovered that the three employees had conspired together to spit in the deputies food,” the release states.
“An anonymous person notified the owners of Highway 55 of the food tampering. The owners immediately viewed video footage that confirmed the accusations of the trio.”
The trio of teens was immediately fired and the restaurant owners contacted the Okeechobee City Police Department.
The owners of the establishement were “quite upset” and have been cooperating to the fullest extent on the matter.
Detectives Bill Saum and Bettye Taylor investigated the case and watched video of the event.
After investigating, 16-year-old Molly Spearow, 17-year-old Alex Armstrong and 17-year=old Logan Pope were each charged with Florida Anti-Tampering Act- Food, a 1st Degree Felony and Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer (LEO), a 3rd Degree Felony.
Each of the three charged are high school students and were transported to the Department of Juvenile Justice.
“There is no excuse for actions such as this and will not be tolerated,” Sheriff Noel E. Stephen said after the ordeal.
The deputies who ate the food have been notified.