MOUNDSVILLE -— A Sheriff's Deputy and his wife are suing Wendy's and three of its employees after he was given food that had been tampered with.
On March 15, 2009, Marshall County Deputy Sherriff Rodney Sleeth went to the Wendy's in Moundsville to order dinner, according to a complaint filed Oct. 22 in Marshall Circuit Court.
Sleeth claims when he went through the drive-thru Cassandra L. Grover, the shift supervisor, announced to the two employees, Thomas H. Bender Jr. and Joshua M. Monroe, that a police officer was coming through the drive-thru.
Announcing the job title of a Wendy's customer was not a normal, customary, or usual business practice at the restaurant, according to the suit.
Sleeth ordered a bowl of Chili and a cheeseburger. According to the suit, Bender began to assemble Sleeth's cheeseburger and "reached down his pants, pulled numerous and sundry hairs from the genital region of his body, and placed the pubic hairs onto Sleeth's cheeseburger."
Sleeth claims he went back to the Marshall County Sheriff's Office to eat his meal. He claims he ate the bowl of chili and began to unwrap the cheeseburger, when he noticed something unusual protruding from under the cheeseburger's bun.
After removing the top of the bun, Sleeth discovered human public hairs between the lettuce and mayonnaise on the cheeseburger, according to the suit. Sleeth claims he instantly became ill, nauseated, severely emotionally distraught and infuriated.
Bender admitted to pulling hair from his body and placing it on Sleeth's cheeseburger and Monroe admitted to encouraging Bender to do so, according to the suit.
Sleeth and his wife, Tricia Sleeth, are suing for an order prohibiting any and all individuals and/or entities from placing information about Sleeth upon any "indexing bureau" in any manner whatsoever. David A. Jividen of Jividen Law Offices is representing them.
The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Mark A. Karl.
Marshall Circuit Court case number: 09-C-218