NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A New Jersey Starbucks employee has been accused of spitting in the coffee of police officers.
Kevin Trejo, a 21-year-old from Westwood, faces a number of charges, including subjecting a law enforcement officer to contact with a bodily fluid, creating a hazardous or physically dangerous condition and knowingly tampering with a cup of coffee knowing it was ordered by a law enforcement officer.
It's unclear how many officers may have had their drinks tampered with, but police said it "appears to be an isolated incident with this sole individual" at a Starbucks in Park Ridge.
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"We believe it happened more than once, but we can prove it happened at least once on May 25," Park Ridge Police Capt. Joseph Rampolla told NBC News.
Park Ridge Police Chief Joseph Madden told NJ.com that Trejo was "arrogant enough to be bragging about it" and that led police to question him.
"We were just shocked," Rampolla said. "And I think a lot of people who have found out about it from the public and a lot of different residents were also very shocked that this would take place. And when you start thinking about the whole COVID crisis and the situation, the last thing you would expect is that somebody would spit into your coffee."
Starbucks released the following statement: "This individual's behavior was reprehensible and not at all a reflection of how our partners (employees) treat our customers on a daily basis. As soon as we learned of what took place, we moved quickly to investigate, and can now confirm this individual is no longer a Starbucks employee. We have apologized to the Park Ridge Police Department. We want everyone who comes into our stores to receive a positive experience and when that doesn't occur, we move quickly to address it and hold ourselves accountable. We will continue to support Park Ridge Police in their investigation and have a deep respect for the Park Ridge Police Department and the officers who help keep our partners and communities safe."
