Posted on 08/03/2013 7:14:10 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The deputy allegedly sprayed the pizza without the teen's knowledge
An Orange County Sheriff’s deputy is facing jail time after being accused of pepper spraying a teen's pizza without his knowledge during a traffic stop last year, prosecutors said.
Juan Tavera, a six-year veteran of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department at the time of the alleged crime, faces one year in jail if convicted of spraying the pizza and ultimately sickening five people who ate it, according to a release by the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
Tavera, 30, allegedly pulled over a 19-year-old named as John Doe for a traffic violation on Sept. 8, 2012, when he noticed a pizza in the back seat and pepper sprayed it without the teen noticing, the release stated.
The teen returned home to share the pizza with four friends, and all five people became sick as a result of ingesting the pepper spray-contaminated pie. He became suspicious and notified the sheriff’s department of his interaction with the deputy, the DA's office said.
Tavera is charged with misdemeanor assault or battery by a public officer and is set to be arraigned Monday in Newport Beach.
He is currently on paid administrative leave.
Oh, great. Now reptilians will attempt to take over Free Republic.
A canine takeover, I’d accept with some despair, but snakes?
;)
How does a nineteen year old’s alleged hoax manage to fool a DA’s office?
I would expect them in having training to weed out such hoaxes from legitimate complaints, and would expect a 19 year old to be less adept at instrumenting such a hoax as most older adults.
Unless other information comes to light, I conclude the 19 year old is telling the truth.
Jake the FReeping snake?
That’s adorable!
It still does.
Two words: Angela Corey
But I am not saying that anyone is telling the truth or lying her I am just saying that the story as related by the reporter has gaps I could drive a fleet of trucks though.
Either the story is deeply flawed or it streaches probability.
If there is a dash-cam and it was in operation then this thing can be resolved rather easily.
My apologies for my drive by assertion based on the little evidence/information in the article. Since I know neither the officer or the teen, I am weighing in like everyone else here.
I see nothing in the article suggesting a medical report. I concur with other posts here that it is painful to be anywhere near when the stuff has been released. If it was in his car he would have known. A leaky canister was dropped in a trash can at our local park. Even after the trash can was removed, the stuff lingered for some time.
“I see nothing in the article suggesting a medical report.”
If the district attorney filed charges, you can be pretty sure their valid. It is my observation that DA’s bend over backwards not to charge the police...
Is that a fiddy cent topping or a dollar?
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