KC man accused of contaminating food at a Leawood Hereford House
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Johnson County District Attorney’s Office filed food adulteration charges against a man accused of contaminating food at a Leawood Hereford House for almost a month.
According to a news release from the DA’s office, on April 25, the Leawood Police Investigations Unit followed up on a tip from another law enforcement agency of intentional food contamination at the restaurant, located at 5001 Town Center Drive.
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LPD began investigating and spoke with restaurant management. The release said the staff’s cooperation led to a suspect, 21-year-old Jace Christian Hanson of Kansas City, who was taken into custody and charged by the DA’s office.
Johnson County District Attorney Stephen Howe said the investigation is ongoing, and additional charges aren’t off the table.
“Both the FBI and Leawood Police acted immediately to stop that from continuing,” Howe said. “Our concern is that bodily fluids were used to alter the food, and so, by virtue of that, we’re concerned about the public’s health. That’s why we’re asking individuals who feel like they became sick after eating at the restaurant to reach out to law enforcement so we can follow up on that.”
“I will say that Hereford House has been very cooperative with law enforcement, and we appreciate their efforts to assist us in this investigation,” Howe said. “It’s still ongoing, and there might be a possibility of additional charges as this investigation continues.”
The Hereford House restaurant released the following statement to FOX4 in response to Hanon’s charge.
“First and foremost, the safety of our customers and staff is paramount to all of us at the Hereford House.”
“The individual who was arrested was a part-time employee who worked at the restaurant for less than a month. Once authorities arrested the individual on April 25th, we immediately took all measures and steps to thoroughly clean and sanitize the kitchen in accordance with health department guidelines.”
“We are fully cooperating with all authorities in this matter.”
The crime falls under the state’s criminal threat statute.
“The criminal threat statute includes a component where if you impact the food, then it falls under the criminal threat statute, which doesn’t make a lot of sense in the way it sounds,” Howe said. “It’s a low-level felony, despite whatever impact those individuals would have from altering the food. So it’s definitely one of those cases that makes us reexamine whether or not we need to go back before the legislature and see if we can add some different components for these types of serious charges.”
Investigators are asking people to contact them if they ate at the restaurant between March 26 and April 23, 2024, and later became ill.
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If you believe this happened to you, contact the Leawood Police Department at tips@leawood.org or (913) 266-0696.
Hanson’s next appearance is scheduled for Thursday morning in District Court.
