Jennica Church said Tulsa weather was the last thing on her mind after a long night bartending led her to Arby’s in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. Broken Bow police later said video from the restaurant showed former manager Amanda Hendricks spitting in food served to Church.
A warrant has been issued for Hendricks’ arrest after she was charged with felony poisoning with intent to injure. Church and her family then filed a lawsuit against Hendricks, Arby’s and affiliated restaurant groups, saying the episode caused extreme anxiety, emotional distress and fear of infection.
Church’s account
Church said her mouth flared up after she ate the food. A doctor later diagnosed her with herpes, and Church said, “I love Arby’s—not anymore,” after describing the visit.
She said the wait felt off because, “It was taking a little bit of time,” and she thought, “I thought they were mad at me because it was about to close.” Her concern did not stop at the restaurant counter; she said, “If I go out to each and see someone with a big thing on their face, I don’t want them serving me food,” tying the incident to her fear about working in food service.
Broken Bow police video
Broken Bow police officers said they pulled cameras from Arby’s and saw Hendricks spit in the food. That account is the basis for the felony poisoning with intent to injure charge, which moves the case from a customer complaint into a criminal matter with an arrest warrant attached.
Jennica Church said her daughter heard that Hendricks had been bragging about spitting in Church’s sandwiches. That is the sharpest point of conflict in the case: Church’s side says the conduct was deliberate, while the defense version quoted by Will Blocker says other employees watched it happen and did nothing to stop it.
Family impact in McCurtain County
Patricia Dollarhite said the incident has affected daily life in the family. “My son was sitting at my table, eating breakfast and he wanted a kiss, and he could not get one, so you bet I’m angry,” she said, adding, “I see what it’s doing to my grandchildren, my son, my husband. I don’t want to kiss my husband. He ate the food! Because he hasn’t had an outbreak, doesn’t mean he doesn’t have it.”
Will Blocker said, “They let it go all the way out the door and my client now has a communicable disease.” He also said, “That has to be a culture deeper than Arby’s in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. Maybe it’s Flynn Restaurant Group and all 300 stores they own. I don’t know, but we are going to find out.”
With the arrest warrant issued and the lawsuit filed, the case now turns on whether investigators and the court can connect the video, the charge and Church’s diagnosis in a way that holds up in the criminal and civil cases.
