A 24-year-old Texas man who filmed himself popping open of tub of Blue Bell ice cream and licking it before sticking it back in the freezer at a Port Arthur Walmart will spend 30 days behind bars.
D’Adrien L’Quinn Anderson was sentenced to jail Wednesday, in addition to a six-month probationary term, The Associated Press reports. Anderson was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and $1,565 in restitution to Blue Bell Creameries, which was forced to replace all the ice cream in the display case as a health precaution.
In a clip posted to Facebook last August, Anderson grabs a tub of the popular ice cream from the freezer before tonguing down its surface, which wasn’t covered by a plastic safety shield. Anderson proceeds to dig his fingers into the frozen dessert, eating it with his hands.
“Come on, let’s go!” someone behind the camera says. “Hurry, hurry up.”
Store surveillance shows Anderson ultimately purchased the carton he had tampered with. However, that part wasn’t captured in his viral social media video, which racked up more than 170,000 views.
The stunt was part of a troubling internet trend that emerged last summer in which people filmed themselves licking tubs of ice cream at grocery stores and putting them back in the freezer. A teen from Texas was turned over to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department after also participating in the high jinks.
Anderson insists what he did was “just a prank;” however, the stunt could’ve landed him in jail for up to a year, plus a $4,000 fine, according to AP. He was charged with misdemeanor criminal mischief.
“The safety of our ice cream is our highest priority, and we take tampering with our products very seriously,” a spokesperson for Blue Bell Creameries told Yahoo Lifestyle. “We are pleased to see this matter has been resolved.”
Anderson began serving his jail term immediately after Wednesday’s sentencing.
Many online users were happy to see the young man sentenced as he was while others felt the punishment was too harsh.
“Actions have consequences,” one critic wrote. “The consequences in this case are BARELY appropriate due to public concern over product safety, and the manufacturers concern over HEALTH and image issues. The ‘consequences’ for such actions should be as severe as the law allows, IRRESPECTIVE OF AGE.”
“This was handled totally in the right way!! learn the lesson, millennials!!” another chimed in.
One user argued Anderson’s “punishment should have been to lick the floor of the [Walmart].”
In contrast, another user wrote: “He bought the EXACT same ice cream on surveillance and still got 30 days. He just wanted fb likes. People eat and drink all the time in the store as long as theyre buying it. Seems a little stiff given the circumstances.”
“I’m undecided on if this is fair or not,” someone else chimed in.
