Store clerk puts dishwashing liquid in juice?

A store clerk who was said to be unhappy over not being promoted was arrested Monday on charges he spiked bottled grape juice with dishwashing liquid and caused more than 40 people to fall ill at a church communion service.

The contaminated juice was bought at the CVS drugstore where Wendell Woodroffe worked, police said.

Woodroffe, 28, was charged with 22 counts of assault and 22 counts of assault on a victim 60 or older. He was jailed on $50,000 bail.

More than 40 people became ill during the Feb. 5 service at Calvary Baptist Church, a short distance from the drugstore in this wealthy community. Five people were treated at hospitals for nausea and vomiting. People who drank the juice reported a burning sensation in their throats.

Investigators said other tainted bottles were found on the store's shelves at the time of the incident. Woodroffe also was charged in a previously unreported incident in which a Darien woman got sick from tampered-with prune juice in December, police said. That case came to light after the church illnesses.

CVS/Pharmacy said Monday it fired Woodroffe, a clerk and cashier who had been an employee since 1998. The assault charges involving the elderly carry a minimum of two years in prison each. The other assault charges have a range of one to five years. Woodroffe could also face federal charges, Bussell said. Article here.