Woman accused of tainting orange juice

Posted: Wednesday, May 1, 2013 8:00 pm

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A California woman faces attempted murder charges after police say she tried to sneak orange juice bottles spiked with a lethal amount of rubbing alcohol inside a Starbucks. San Jose Police arrested Ramineh Behbehanian, 50, late Monday. A customer reported seeing the woman take two bottles of orange juice from her bag and place them in an open-air refrigerated display case at a Starbucks in San Jose around 3:45 p.m., Sgt. Jason Dwyer said Tuesday. When the customer told a store manager what he saw, Behbehanian fled. A store employee followed Behbehanian to the parking lot and jotted down her license plate number as she drove off. Other employees called 911 after noticing the bottles had a toxic smell, Dwyer said. Firefighters on the scene tested the contents and determined that the bottles contained a “lethal quantity” of isopropyl rubbing alcohol mixed with the juice, Dwyer said. No one drank from the bottles, said Dwyer, who praised the customer’s quick actions. Published in The Messenger 5.1.13