A 34-year-old male in Milwaukee was arrested after he was reportedly caught adding super glue to the drink of one of his co-worker’s at the Wisconsin State Fair grounds.
Joseph R. Ross was arrested last week and indicted on a single felony charge of putting foreign substances in food, court documents viewed by Law&Crime indicate. In a probable cause affidavit, Wisconsin State Fair Park Police officers were making a foot patrol at around 11 a.m. on March 20 when one person identified in the document as “JH” approached them and asked for a private chat.
“Throughout the conversation, the Officers were informed by JH that about 2 to 3 weeks previously, JH believed that her drinks on her desk had been poisoned with a chemical substance,” the affidavit said. “JH was brought to the contamination’s attention through the overpowering chemical odor and taste. According to JH, after ingesting those drinks, she was sick. In addition, JH did not agree to allow anyone to put anything in her drink.
Because of all that had occurred, JH stated she placed a surveillance camera on her desk that morning earlier to check to see if somebody was spiking her drink.
“At about 9:52 a.m., JH’s camera caught JH’s office mate and co-worker Joseph R. Ross, hereafter the Defendant, deposit a foreign substance into JH’s soft drink,” officers stated. “JH produced the video to the Officers.
The video allegedly showed Ross holding a brown and orange tube with a white nozzle and inserting a “liquid substance” into JH’s open can of Coke sitting on her desk. Police reported that while allegedly inserting the substance into the Coke, Ross was found wearing clear latex gloves on both his hands that he eventually threw away.
Ross was interviewed by officials, who said he purportedly confessed to “putting a supplement” in his co-worker’s beverage. Officers next served Ross with a search warrant on his office and the surrounding area. Under the course of the search, they allegedly seized a “set of clear protective gloves” which were bunched up into a ball.
“When the Officers opened the gloves, the Officers discovered that each had something inside,” police wrote. “One glove had a blue plastic cap inside. The other glove had a super glue container inside.”
Police explained the recovered container was “Gorilla Brand Super Glue,” which they added had a warning on the label stating, “Keep out of the reach of children” because of the damage of ingestion.
JH’s can of Coke was subsequently picked up and sent to the Wisconsin Crime Lab for analysis.
Records show Ross is being held at the Milwaukee County Jail in lieu of $10,000 bond. If released, a judge also instructed that he not have any contact with the victim.
If found guilty, Ross is looking at a maximum sentence of 3 1/2 years in a state prison and a fine of up to $10,000. He will appear in court for his preliminary hearing on April 3.
‘She became ill’: Man spiked co-worker’s Cokes with super glue, caught on hidden camera, police say.
