CENTENNIAL, Colo. — The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office (ACSO) said on Wednesday that it has closed its investigation into rat poison found in Taco Bell food.
ACSO began the investigation in January after a customer claimed to have digested rat poison found his food from a Centennial Taco Bell restaurant.
"After a thorough investigation, the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office has closed the case of the poison in the Taco Bell food," ACSO said in statement. "Investigators cleared the Taco Bell employees of wrongdoing using surveillance cameras inside the restaurant.
"Investigators spoke with the victim to try and ascertain who could have placed the poison in the tacos but were unable to find a suspect. The Sheriff's Office would like to thank Taco Bell and their employees for their help in the investigation," ACSO said.
ACSO began its investigation Jan. 15 after a report of a disturbance involving employees and a customer at the Taco Bell at East Smoky Hill Road and South Buckley Road.
ACSO deputies said a customer became upset with employees who said the soda dispenser was not working.
The customer requested a burrito in place of the drink. According to ACSO, employees told the customer that they could not do that, and the customer continued to argue until he was given an extra burrito.
Later that day, deputies were called to an area hospital on a report of a patient who had been admitted after he had ingested rat poison, ACSO said.
Deputies found out that this patient was the same customer from the earlier incident at the Taco Bell. The patient said he had received his food from Taco Bell and gone home, the Sheriff's Office said.
The customer said he helped a neighbor with some yardwork until about 6 p.m. and then watched TV until about 7 p.m. After the program finished, the patient ate his food and began feeling a burning in his mouth and began to vomit. The patient called 911 and was transported to the hospital, according to ACSO.
At the hospital, deputies saw the food that the patient had taken a bite out of and saw a greenish-gray substance, ACSO said. Lab tests confirmed the presence of rat poison.
The Centennial Taco Bell was immediately closed and ACSO investigators and crime scene investigators were called to the restaurant to process the scene, ACSO said.
ACSO said Taco Bell was cooperative during the investigation and turned over all videos from inside the building.
Investigators went through the Taco Bell video and found no evidence that the employees were responsible for placing rat poison in the food given to the customer, ACSO said.
The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office said if the public has any information or leads in this Taco Bell case, they should call a tip line at 720-874-8477.
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