Cooks Arrested For Spitting In Cop's Meal

SEBRING - Two cooks at Beef O' Brady's restaurant were held on $75,000 bail each, after police alleged that one of the two spit in a police officer's food early August.

Davin Simpson, 22, and Corey Lenton, 24, both of Sebring, were held in Highlands County Jail Saturday afternoon for first-degree felony charges of reckless tampering with a product with risk of injury or death.

The second suspect was off duty at that time and was aware of the incident. It was not known at press time if he was present at the restaurant.

Comm. Steve Carr, of Sebring police, said Saturday morning that Gilbert Randall, a former police officer and owner of the restaurant, reacted swiftly to the incident soon after he heard about it.

Randall said Saturday afternoon that three employees - "anyone even remotely involved"- was fired, including both police suspects.

The third person fired was a waitress.

"It touches me personally on two different levels," said Randall. "This is my family business. This is how we survive. And I'm a retired law enforcement officer.

"The whole situation is sickening. It's gut wrenching and embarrassing to have it happen. We're disturbed and upset that this happened. It's nothing we would condone."

Sebring Sgt. Greg Barlaug and Sebring police officer Ryan Magnuson were the targets of the tampering, said police. Magnuson was Sebring's Officer of the Year for 2005.

Barlaug said on Saturday that both officers were wearing police uniforms and attracted attention from the staff while they dined.

"A lot of employees were staring at us, but we get that everywhere we go," said Barlaug. "There's not a whole lot of places to eat where we feel comfortable.

"I'm sure this type of incident happens a lot, and this time they got caught."

Barlaug had arrested one of the suspects -- Lenton-- during the 2004 hurricane season.

He added that respect by much of the general public for police has diminished significantly in the past 20 or 30 years.

"Anybody else out there who hears the story and considers doing this should think twice. They're looking at jail time."