Detroit Concession Stand Worker Faces Felony Charges for Spitting on a Customer's Pizza

The Detroit Tigers played their final home games of the season last weekend, a four-game stand against the Kansas City Royals. The Tigers’ 4-3 loss on Friday night was the team’s 92nd loss of the season, putting them 23.5 games behind the division-leading Cleveland Indians. It was a mostly unremarkable night for two mostly unremarkable teams, which might’ve been why one Comerica Park concessions worker had time to film his coworker spitting on somebody’s pizza.

In a gross video that was widely shared online, 20-year-old Jaylon Kerley appears to be shown spitting on a pizza that he was preparing at one of the stadium’s concession stands. He then calmly covered the glob of spit with a spoonful of pizza sauce. According to WXYZ, Kerley was arrested on Sunday, and is facing one felony charge of Food Law Violations, as well as a related misdemeanor. He has also been ordered to undergo mandatory health testing, which includes a Hepatitis A test. And, oh yeah, he was also fired from his job.

“The allegation in this case is disturbing on so many levels,” prosecutor Kym Worthy said, according to the Detroit Free Press. “Yesterday I literally refused to order food. We all want to make sure all food that we order is clean, safe, germ-free, and unadulterated with any substance that should not be there.”

Detroit Sportservice, the company that operates the concession stand where Kerley worked, said that it immediately closed that location and trashed all of its food after finding out about the video. “Food safety is our top priority and we will take any appropriate action necessary to protect our guests,” a Detroit Sportservice spokesperson told WXYZ.

Meanwhile, Quenell May, who both filmed and posted the clip, told the news station that this wasn’t the first time Kerley spit in someone’s food—but it’s the first time that he was caught on camera. “I asked him, 'Are you serious about that? Like is he really gonna spit in a customer's pizza?' So I pulled out my phone to have proof, just in case he did it," May said.

In a Facebook post, May mentioned that he was sent home on Friday night for an unrelated issue, but that his bosses have since told him to delete the video. May wrote that he was let go for “exposing” Kerley, a statement that Detroit Sportservice disagrees with. “Our only subsequent communication with that employee was to let him know that he would not be working Saturday or Sunday,” the company said. “No one acting in an official work capacity asked him to remove the video.”

Kerley has entered a not guilty plea. He is due back in court on October 3.