DoorDasher in Indiana arrested for allegedly pepper-spraying delivery | Indiana

A driver for the popular food delivery platform DoorDash has been arrested after allegedly making a customer and his wife sick by pouring in orders in full view of a doorbell camera, according to authorities in Indiana.

Kourtney Stevenson faces felony and consumer product tampering charges, the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office said. a statement On Friday, we’re covering a case that will be of significant concern to DoorDash’s 42 million or so users.

Stevenson, 29, allegedly told investigators he used the pepper spray in question to kill a spider that had frightened him, but they didn’t believe him, saying it was too cold at the time of delivery for such a creature to go out.

A DoorDash spokesperson said in a statement Saturday that Stevenson’s “access to the platform has been permanently removed.”

“We have absolutely zero tolerance for this type of appalling behavior… and our team is supporting law enforcement in the investigation,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The Vanderburgh sheriff’s office said the agency received the complaint that led to Stevenson’s arrest on Dec. 7. One man described how he and his wife ordered food through DoorDash shortly after midnight. They vomited after eating their food and also experienced burning in their mouth, nose, throat and stomach.

The couple reviewed doorbell camera footage and saw the DoorDash delivery driver, later identified as Stevenson, place their groceries on the porch. In the footage, the woman is seen taking a small aerosol can attached to a keychain and spraying a substance towards the food before leaving.

Investigators learned Stevenson’s identity in part from records they subpoenaed from DoorDash. After detectives reached him by phone, he admitted to using pepper spray during the delivery, which was reported to the sheriff’s office, the agency said.

But Stevenson claimed he didn’t want to repel the meal and instead targeted a spider because he was “terrified” of such creatures, according to the agency.

Detectives noted that the low temperature the night of the delivery was 35F (1.7C). “At this temperature, outdoor spiders in Indiana are not active and cannot crawl on exposed surfaces,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement Friday.

Stevenson initially agreed to meet with the sheriff’s office, but the agency said he later backed out. Detectives later obtained a warrant for his arrest.

On Friday, Stevenson was reportedly taken into custody by authorities in his hometown of McCracken County, Kentucky, about two hours away from Vanderburgh.

He was being held without bail pending extradition to Vanderburgh County, which includes Evansville, Indiana. The sheriff’s office said Stevenson was visiting his father in Evansville the night the suspected tarnishing warrant was filed.

Sheriff’s investigators did not identify the man who reported Stevenson to them or say where the delivered food came from. However, news channel KCBD identified him as Mark Cardin, who said he placed an order for himself and his wife from fast food restaurant chain Arby’s.

Cardin told KCBD that “in this day and age” it’s “horrible” to think about how their food could be spoiled in other ways.

“It could have been rat poison, it could have been fentanyl,” Cardin told the press. “My wife could have died”

Vanderburgh County Sheriff Noah Robinson said his agency was pursuing Stevenson immediately because “residents need to be able to trust that the food they order for their families is safe.”

“When someone violates that trust and puts others in danger, we will respond and pursue charges,” Robinson added.