Taco Bell customer falls ‘seriously ill’ after his bean burritos were ‘spiked with rat poison’ – and police are now investigating whether fast-food chain workers poisoned his takeout order
- A customer known for causing trouble at his local Taco Bell became violently ill on Sunday night after claiming his takeout order was laced with rat poison
- Officials in Aurora, Colorado are actively investigating the claims
- Police had earlier that day responded to reports of an altercation between the man and restaurant workers but found no criminal conduct
- The restaurant’s manager denies the claims as “ridiculous,” saying, “We don’t even carry poison in the restaurant.”
A Taco Bell in Colorado is under investigation after a “problematic” customer fell violently ill after claiming his takeout order was laced with rat poison.
The customer, who has not been identified, began vomiting Saturday after eating his burritos from the Aurora fast food joint and called 911. He was taken to hospital, where it was found he had ingested “large amounts” of the toxic chemical.
The Taco Bell store has denied claims the customer’s order was laced with poison by workers.
The man was a regular who frequently caused trouble at the store — even once throwing a taco at a clerk, according to store manager Lary Swift. The day before, when the man was taken to hospital, police were called to the store over an altercation between the customer and staff at the store’s drive-thru.
Swift told CBS that the customer argued with employees around 1 p.m. and asked for “something for free” in exchange for getting plain water instead of his soda because the restaurant’s C02 soda machine wasn’t working that day.
A Taco Bell in Colorado is under investigation after an unidentified customer became seriously ill after claiming his takeout order was laced with rat poison
Deputy Sheriff John Bartmann told enough rat poison was found in the burritos “to seriously affect the victim’s health”. It is not known if the victim is still in the hospital but is believed to have recovered from the incident. Taco Bell restaurant has denied having rat poison in the store
Swift said he ordered three bean burritos and got a fourth free.
It is not known who called 911 during this incident, but police who arrived at the drive-through found a much quieter scene, Deputy Sheriff John Bartmann told .
After speaking to everyone involved, the deputies determined that no crime had been committed and left.
The client also returned home, where, according to deputy Bartmann, he did some chores and sat down to watch 60 minutes of television.
It wasn’t until the show was over, around 7 p.m., that the man ate his four burritos.
Immediately nauseated and vomiting, the man called an ambulance and was taken to a local hospital, where doctors quickly diagnosed the cause of his sudden illness.
However, police only became aware of the poisoning allegations later in the evening after receiving a call from hospital workers that a patient had claimed rodenticide had been spiked into his Taco Bell order.
Bartmann told that police would not reveal the man’s identity.
He added that enough rat poison was found in the burritos “to seriously affect the victim’s health.” It is not known if the victim is still in the hospital but is believed to have recovered from the incident.
Officials are reviewing security camera footage from inside the Taco Bell to determine whether or not the rat poison was actually put in his food at the restaurant.
The ongoing case is currently classified as an “attempted homicide”.
MPs closed the Aurora-based Taco Bell on Sunday night, but it was open again to take orders on Wednesday, can reveal.
Manager Lary Swift denied the poisoning allegations in comments to CBS.
“We don’t have poison in the restaurant,” she said. “We didn’t do anything like that. It didn’t even add up. It is ridiculous.’
When asked by , Taco Bell Corp said: “The safety of customers and team members is a priority. The franchisee who owns and operates this location has informed us that they are cooperating with local authorities in their investigation.’