A cook at a Sonic fast-food restaurant in New Mexico is facing criminal charges after a customer allegedly found a bag of cocaine in her food this week, KOB-TV reports.
On Tuesday, Celine Gonzales ordered a hot dog from the drive-thru at a Sonic location in Española, New Mexico, northwest of Santa Fe.
After taking a bite, Gonzales allegedly “felt what she described as a small plastic bag in her mouth,” according to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by the Albuquerque Journal. She then spit out the bag, which appeared to have a white powder inside.
Police seized the powdery bag and determined that it tested positive for cocaine. The bag had about a gram of the drug inside of it.
It was not clear whether Gonzales ingested any of the cocaine.
Authorities allege that 54-year-old cook David Salazar was responsible for the bag getting into the hot dog. Video footage recorded from a surveillance camera allegedly shows Salazar doing a “hand to hand transaction” with another employee and then preparing the woman’s hot dog, the Journal reports. His body language can then be seen changing abruptly.
“(Salazar) stops cooking and appears to be frantically searching the area as if he lost something,” the affidavit states, according to the newspaper.
Investigators interviewed Salazar, who allegedly admitted that it was his cocaine, KRQE-TV reports. He claimed to have purchased the drug from someone in the parking lot.
Salazar has been charged with felony possession of a controlled substance, according to court records reviewed by CrimeOnline.
The restaurant was still open as of Thursday. A supervisor at the business declined to comment to KOB-TV, but the televisions station did interview customers.
“I think that’s pretty scary. We come here to get food for our families, and if a child found that it could have been pretty bad or deadly,” one woman told KOB-TV at the restaurant.
Said another man: “That’s kind of crazy. I just got an ice cream. I hope we’re good.”
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[Feature Photo: David Salazar/Española Police Department]
