this post was submitted on 14 Dec 2025
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Kourtney Stevenson was allegedly caught on camera spraying meal with chemical that later sickened customers

A driver for the popular food delivery platform DoorDash has been arrested after allegations that she showered an order with pepper spray in plain view of a doorbell camera, sickening a customer and his wife, according to authorities in Indiana.

Kourtney Stevenson faces counts of felony battery and consumer product tampering, the Vanderburgh county sheriff’s office said in a statement on Friday, addressing a case that is bound to be of significant interest to DoorDash’s 42 million or so users.

Stevenson, 29, allegedly told investigators that she used the pepper spray in question to try to kill a spider that had frightened her, but they did not believe her, saying it was too cold at the time of the delivery for that kind of creature to be out.

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[–] SkyezOpen@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

After ingesting their meal, they vomited while also enduring burning in their mouths, noses, throats and stomachs.

who told the outlet that he had ordered from the fast-food restaurant chain Arby’s for him and his wife.

OK but... That could've just been the Arby's food.

[–] VitoRobles@lemmy.today 0 points 22 hours ago

If anything, it was already pepper sprayed twice already before the dasher picked it up.

[–] SirEDCaLot@lemmy.today 4 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Ever notice it seems like it's always DoorDash with this shit? IDK if they pay people less or are less stringent with their hiring but it seems like it's always DoorDash.

[–] Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago

I'm kinda surprised that so many people are so willing to trust whoever in the area happened to decide to sign up as a delivery person to handle their food in the privacy of their own vehicle (or wherever they decide to bring it before the final destination).

I wonder how many stories are like this but less severe/obvious to the point where it all goes unnoticed.

[–] VitoRobles@lemmy.today 3 points 22 hours ago

Ok actually never thought about that.

Grubhub probably loving this.

[–] yeahiknow3@lemmy.dbzer0.com 102 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Don’t tamper with food, it’s a serious felony. Unless you’re a multinational corporation poisoning everyone including children. That’s acceptable.

[–] Natanael 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] VitoRobles@lemmy.today 2 points 22 hours ago

"We're sorry..." Naked man on a bear rug

Or a government agency targeting brown infants riding by in a car then it's also acceptable to pepper spray.

[–] criss_cross@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago

Door dashers don’t have the funds and corporate connections to legally sicken and kill people.

[–] magnetosphere@fedia.io 31 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Stevenson initially agreed to meet with the sheriff’s office, though the agency later said she backed out. Detectives subsequently obtained a warrant to arrest her.

This makes me laugh. She agreed to meet with the sheriff, then realized how badly she had fucked herself. Surprisingly, the problem didn’t magically disappear.

[–] Psythik@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

This is why you never talk to the police. Don't ever volunteer information. If they call/text you, ignore it. Make them spend the resources hunting you down. If they bring you in for questioning, the only words coming out of your mouth should be, "I would like to to speak with an attorney, please". More often than not they won't even bother obtaining a warrant for minor shit like this, but only if you don't make it easy for them.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

They had doorbell video of her doing it right at the door. With that kind of evidence making it super easy, they'll prosecute.

[–] JTode@lemmy.world 1 points 11 hours ago

IANAL, but if it's true that a lawyer only needs to create Reasonable Doubt in the mind of a single jurist... I'm pretty sure I could do that. Of course, her lawyer will probably be a gig economy worker too, so they might just pepper spray her and plead guilty while she chokes. Badum. Tish.

(Marxist) But also, this woman, and all gig economy workers besides, is basically a sharecropper without land. I don't specifically think that what Nat Turner did was right, but I do understand why it happened. Likewise, someone who probably lives in their car 75% of their life because that's about all they can afford, forever, at the door of some comfortable warm secure home of a person who is participating in your exploitation just so they don't have to go retrieve their own extreuded meat paste sandwich... well like I said, I don't think what Nat Turner did was right either.(/Marxist)

More generally: Back in the 80s when everyone had a suburban home and nobody suffered, you still wondered if those teenagers in back of the McDonald's were messing with your food... and they were. And those kids had a bright future, or so they believed. We didn't appreciate what we had.

This is the LSCD (Late Stage Capitalism Doomer) version of a little extra sauce on your burger. Pillorying this prole won't even actually make anyone feel better, and it sure as shit is not going to fix a motherfucking thing.

[–] Microtonal_Banana@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 day ago

Food tampering is a felony.

[–] SSUPII@sopuli.xyz 6 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Food tampering is minor now

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[–] Phegan@lemmy.world 40 points 2 days ago

I am not saying she isn't a shitty human, but when a poor person puts shit in people's food...jail.

When a corporation does. Stock buy backs.

We should hold everyone accountable for poisoning people.

[–] yesman@lemmy.world 53 points 2 days ago (1 children)

don't put shit in people's food. It's a serious felony as it should be.

In my town a waiter put eyedrops into a rude customers drink. He went to the hospital and she went to prison.

[–] naeap@sopuli.xyz 11 points 2 days ago (4 children)

What kind of eye drops can that be, that are okay for the eyes but poison you, when swallowed? Oo

Somehow my understanding was, that the eyes are much more sensitive to stuff like that

[–] foenix@lemmy.radio 23 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Nope, certain eye drops can cause renal/kidney failure. Your eyes are definitely sensitive to other kinds of chemicals, but the eyes and stomach can be considered to be different bio mechanical factories

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[–] Zorcron@piefed.zip 13 points 2 days ago

It can happen. Systemic absorption as opposed to only local effects of eye drops can have a big impact, and if you’re trying to poison someone, you’re probably putting in most of a bottle of eye drops (5-15ml) instead of the few drops you would put in your eye, so potentially a ~100x higher dose.

Just thinking briefly about it, I think the more dangerous eye drops would cause lower blood pressure if taken orally or potential kidney problems depending on the drug.

It would probably have to be a high dose to seriously affect a healthy young person, but an older person or someone with underlying health issues or other interacting medications could more easily be affected.

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[–] zeppo@lemmy.world 26 points 2 days ago (3 children)

The “it’s too cold” logic doesn’t really hold up. A spider could be in a warmer place like indoors or her car and then have gotten in the bag. Of course, her claims don’t make much sense, either. She could have just fled. Of course, I’m no psychological expert regarding phobia driven behavior. Anyway, if she did want to harm the customers for some reason, that’s wild that she sprayed it on the porch and not just on the street or in her car. I suppose maybe if she did t want to get pepper spray inside her vehicle.

[–] Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 1 points 7 hours ago

I think that if it was a phobia-driven thing that she has no control over, it implies that she is unable to prevent herself from being a danger to others and should have her freedoms restricted to mitigate that risk. Like being limited from handling food or not being allowed to carry things that might harm others in the vicinity when she unleashes them on a spider that frightens her. Probably shouldn't be allowed to drive, either.

[–] velindora@lemmy.cafe 40 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Anyone who thinks pepper spray is what you use on spiders should be locked up.

[–] PhobosAnomaly@feddit.uk 29 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Absolutely.

You need a lighter in front of the nozzle first. This isn't amateur hour.

[–] Atelopus-zeteki@fedia.io 22 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Please don't harm spiders.

[–] MagicShel@lemmy.zip 24 points 2 days ago (1 children)

How many legs are you typing this with right now?

[–] ninjabard@lemmy.world 20 points 2 days ago

The normal amount. I want to say, five?

[–] PhobosAnomaly@feddit.uk 9 points 2 days ago

Nah I jest. Spidey bois are our friends, they're unsung heroes of the pest-killing world.

I'm still not a fan though.

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[–] FlyingSpaceCow@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 day ago
[–] sheridan@lemmy.world 15 points 2 days ago (3 children)

Did she open up the packaging and spray directly on the food? Article doesn't say that. Usually food delivery comes in a bag that's stapled or taped shut, and the items in the bag are in their own closed containers, except maybe for fries. I'm just not clear on how the spray could have gotten onto the food.

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