Don’t forget to wash up after eating all of your free tacos!
That could be why a Tennessee man accused of stealing stacks of free taco coupons from a local Taco Bell also had a restroom soap dispenser hidden in his pants.
That’s the weird-but-true story emerging from Tazewell, Tennessee, where police say they responded earlier this week to a late-night call from Taco Bell employees about a customer “acting strangely” in the restaurant.
According to a police narrative of the incident, they arrived at about 1:00am to find the Taco Bell employees standing outside looking in. The restaurant is open til 2, but not for self-service. Nevertheless, police say they observed a man inside rooting around behind the counter, serving himself with whatever he could get his hands on.
When they went inside and confronted the man, whom they later identified as 24-year-old Jeremy Sulfridge, they say he had managed to get a hold of “stacks of free taco coupons,” which Taco Bell restaurants often keep behind the counter as apology offerings if there’s ever a problem with a customer’s order.
He also allegedly had a key, with which he was allegedly “attempting to gain entry into the restaurant’s safe.” He didn’t get to any of the money, but those free taco coupons alone could have saved him a whole lot of cash.
That was enough to take him in on charges of attempted burglary and theft of property. But that was only the beginning. Police conducted a search, which they say turned up “a small amount of marijuana,” and “the men’s restroom soap dispenser was located in his pants,” because where else would you put it?
After handcuffing him and placing him in their vehicle, police say Sulfridge “kept attempting to remove his handcuffs and escape.” Once they arrived at the local jail, police say he made a run for it, assaulting two deputies before he was wrestled to the ground.
In addition to the burglary and theft charges, he now faces additional charges of drug possession, attempted escape, resisting arrest, assault on a police officer and public intoxication. And vandalism, which would cover the soap dispenser ripped off the men’s room wall.
He’s currently being held in the Claiborne County Jail, pending a court appearance. And whenever he makes it out, if he ever has a late-night taco craving again, he’s going to have to pay for them – and hope that there’s a fully-functioning men’s restroom where he can wash up afterwards.
Image source: Taco Bell
