Jul 28 - Burger King Employee Puts Pills In Sandwichs, Get 5 Years In Jail

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A fired Burger King employee will spend the next five years of his life in prison for slipping pain pills into customers' food, an act prosecutors said was seen on video surveillance released Wednesday.

In the video recorded in February at the restaurant on Philips Highway near the Avenues Mall, Woody Duclos appears to reach into his pocket, pull something out and put it on a sandwich. He does it not once, but twice.

"It's quite hard to look at that," said Tomeria Kendrick, who said she believes she could have died after swallowing one of those pills in her sandwich. "Ever since I saw that video, I see him putting that pill in. It's hard to forget."

The blue pill was hydrocodone, a highly potent narcotic. Kendrick said she ordered a chicken sandwich through the drive-through, and when she got home and bit into her sandwich, "I felt something crunchy, and it was the pill," she said.

Kendrick said that shortly after, she suffered an allergic reaction.

"We had bought a sandwich, a chicken sandwich, and my daughter bit into it, and it had a blue pill inside. And she's been throwing up," a 911 caller told a dispatcher.

"I probably could've died," Kendrick said. "I suffered a seizure in the lobby."

Police arrested Duclos for putting the pills in Kendrick's and another man's sandwich. He pleaded guilty to poisoning food with intent to injure or kill and is serving his sentence.

While Kendrick said she knew Duclos from high school, she said he didn't see her as she passed through the drive-through, and the crime was totally random.

Police later arrested another Burger King employee, Bryant Jones, in connection with selling the pills to Duclos.

Police said Duclos was upset at Burger King and wanted to get back at the company.

Kendrick believes that if she had swallowed the whole pill, that disgruntled employee could have taken her life.

"I was scared. I thought it was it for me," she said.

Burger King issued the following statement Wednesday:

"Food safety is non-negotiable at Burger King restaurants. The company has strict food handling policies and procedures in place which all restaurant personnel must follow. This was an isolated incident at this franchise restaurant, which is independently owned and operated. The franchisee terminated both employees and cooperated fully with authorities."

The other man who found a pill in his sandwich did not experience any adverse effects.

Video: BK Employee Puts Pill In Sandwich - Jacksonville News Story - WJXT Jacksonville

Burger King Surveillance Video

I'll take 2....supersize it

Hydrocodone, to hide inside your whoppers.... Great place to hide em ain't it?

I just took some hydrocodone for my wisdom tooth and I didn't throw up and/or seizure

Sue happy america

let me get this straight, up here we pay up to a dollar a mg and if its a blue hydro pill its probably a vike 10 and this dude is down there putting them in peoples food? not only dont I see the point in spiking burgers but it kinda pisses me off hes just giving them s**ts away

this kid was dumb, of course ppl are gonna notice a pill in their burger, he coulda got back at burger king other ways but this is getting at a innocent stranger so he needs grow up

..... im eating there today, akshully. =/

you do realize every person reacts different from medication, especially children. children aren't suppose to be given adult dosages because it can be fatal which is was why the mother was fine but the child was vomiting.

its very rare that people throw up or have a seizure form it, it's bulls**t, look at the statistics of how many americans are addicted to 80mg oxycontin or 30mg roxicet or whatever, which are about 20 times more powerful then a 10mg vicodin/percocet

s**t when i was 13 my dentist gave me like 20 5mg percs and i ate em like skittles, if anything they make you feel good, granted it does make some people feel sick but that is like 1:100000

obviously it's different for children and i know everyone reacts differently but the fact remains these side effects for the narcotic pills such as 5, 7.5 and 10mg perc/vicodins are literally slim to none

Its hilarious you have to explain that to somebody over 5 years old...ROFL! The education system is failing...

I pity a fool who goes to eat at burger king. Wendys-----> burger queen

i went to bk today and told the cashier i wanted a whopper w/ cheese no onions and extra pills on the side she didnt get it

That could have been me in that Burger King

Oh they are dispensing now?

*goes to BK drive-through*

shoulda got some acid or shrooms or something. at least that would've had a positive effect