Police Speak With Suspect In Blue Bell Ice Cream Licking Video, Identify Her As Juvenile
LUFKIN, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - Police have identified and spoken to the girl seen opening a carton of Blue Bell ice cream at a Lufkin Walmart and licking the top of it before putting it back in the freezer. Her identity will not be released as she is a juvenile, police say.
The video of the incident went viral and led to an investigation by police and Blue Bell as they searched for the tainted Tin Roof ice cream and the suspect. The company was able to locate where the incident occurred, which led to the Lufkin police investigation.
On Friday, police said they identified the girl as a San Antonio resident who was in Lufkin with her boyfriend's family.
"Because she is a juvenile offender, her identity is protected under section 58.104 of the Texas Family code," police said on Facebook.
The case will be handed over to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department as the investigation continues. KTRK reports the girl is not expected to face adult charges.
Police did not say if she was taken into custody. On Wednesday, police said the crime carried a charge of tampering with a consumer product, a second-degree felony.
Authorities with Lufkin police told KTRK that a person with a similar Instagram handle as the suspect took credit for the licking incident and started making comments as her.
One of those comments from the pretender started spreading as people began looking for the girl. Police said that particular comment read: "Yeah, I really did that. You can call it Flu Bell ice cream now 'cause I was a lil sick last week. Repost yourself doing this. Let's see if we can start an epidemic (literally)."
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