Police identify juvenile who licked ice cream tub in viral video
Police in Lufkin, Texas, have identified a juvenile who was seen licking a tub of Blue Bell ice cream in a now-viral video. The juvenile could be seen licking the ice cream at a local Walmart before putting it back into the freezer.
Detectives have spoken with the suspect, who is from the San Antonio area. Police announced Friday that they would not be releasing her name publicly because she's a minor.
The case will now be turned over to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, Jessica Pebsworth, a spokesperson with the Lufkin Police Department said.
Before the suspect was identified as a juvenile, police said she could have faced up to 20 years in prison. They had planned on arresting her on a charge of second-degree felony tampering.
In a statement, Blue Bell said the ice cream that was licked was never sold. "Our staff recognized the location in the video, and we inspected the freezer case," the statement said.
"Based on security footage, the location and the inspection of the carton, we believe we may have recovered the half gallon that was tampered with. Out of an abundance of caution, we have also removed all Tin Roof half gallons from that location."
"Food tampering is not a joke, and we will not tolerate tampering with our products," the statement concludes. Blue Bell creameries said they notified police as soon as an employee was able to identify the store where the incident took place.
