A McDonalds employee has been arrested after officers accused him of lacing the drinks of a pair of Allen County sheriffs deputies with an industrial cleaner.
Iola Police Chief Jared Warner said Trevor J. Hockaday, 22, Iola, was taken into custody Wednesday, after he was suspected of adding a peroxide-based cleaner into the deputies fountain drinks. The deputies were going through the restaurants drive-thru lane, Warner said.
The incident, which reportedly occurred in late August, wasnt reported until last week, Allen County Sheriff Bryan Murphy said.
If it wasnt for the actions of a good Samaritan, wed never have known about this, Murphy said.
Upon receiving the tip, deputies contacted the police department, which is handling the investigation.
The deputies names were not released. One of the two began experiencing stomach pains later that day, Murphy said, but did not miss any work.
It could have been a coincidence, but I dont believe in coincidences, Murphy said.
The other deputy suffered no apparent health issues following the incident.
Hockaday was taken to Allen County Jail for suspicion of aggravated battery against a law enforcement officer, a felony.
Murphy said he had been in touch with McDonalds supervisors about the incident, because such an incident has reportedly happened before. Moreso, he was angered by what he described as the restaurants hesitancy in reporting the crime. He recounted one such instance about 10 years ago when a deputys hamburger had been tainted.
Sure, Im upset because its one of my guys, but Id be even more upset if the victim was somebody from the general public, Murphy said. We have enough to worry about, and now we have to be concerned about what people are putting in our food? And how many of these incidents have gone unreported?
The Register reached out to management at the local McDonalds restaurant who then referred the newspaper to a district manager, who did not return their call before press time.
Warner said the investigation is ongoing.
