The Arapahoe County Sheriff on Wednesday declared the case of poisoning at an Aurora Taco Bell closed, clearing Taco Bell employees of wrongdoing.
Sheriff’s department investigators relied on surveillance cameras inside the Taco Bell at 16700 E. Smoky Hill Road to make their determination.
“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,” a sheriff’s statement Wednesday morning said.
The investigators still are interested in any information in the case, the statement said, and officials directed possible callers to the sheriff’s office “tip line” at 720-874-8477.
The case began in January when an irate Sunday customer became ill and complained about rat poison in food from that Taco Bell. He had been arguing with Taco Bell employees after they told him a soda machine was broken. They gave him a burrito instead of a drink.
The man later was admitted to a hospital — he brought a taco with him — where he told health workers he ate rat poison. He later told deputies he had eaten tacos that evening and done some chores before calling 911.
Deputies who visited the hospital found what they described as a greenish substance in the taco. Tests confirmed it was rat poison, according to sheriff’s department officials.
Investigators circled back to the man, trying to find out who might be responsible for the rat poison.
“He didn’t know who did it,” sheriff’s department spokesman John Bartmann said. “We couldn’t find anybody who could have done it. Nobody saw the tacos for about six hours. When he got home, he left the tacos in the front of his truck with the windows down and the door unlocked. Anybody could have gone into that truck and put something into those tacos. …”
“There’s no surveillance where he lives. We had nothing to go on. We did talk to him, have a conversation with him,” Bartmann said. “If there’s anything anybody comes up with, we could always re-open the case.”
Sheriff’s investigators found no evidence employees were responsible. And Taco Bell, officials said, was helpful throughout the investigation.
