The 9 Most Memorable Crimes That Happened At Fast Food Restaurants

Perhaps it's the crowds of customers or the seemingly plentiful walk-in refrigerators that make fast food restaurants such a common environment for criminal activity.

Or perhaps the more likely draw is the cash register — or row of cash registers — that offers untold riches, if a would-be criminal could get it open. In any case, fast food restaurants share a rich history of crimes, both petty and severe.

We've rounded up a few of the most memorable fast food crime stories, from the Chili's waiter whose DNA proved that he spit in a customer's drink, confirming the possibility of one of our collective worst public dining fears, to the man who found himself in police custody over a nacho cheese dispute. 

Jamie Lynn Spears' Pita Pit of Justice

Britney Spears' baby sister Jamie Lynn made headlines when, during a visit to Pita Pit in Hammond, Lousiana, she was forced to interrupt a fight in defense of her friend who was reportedly "clocked with a bottle." Spears dragged her friend behind the sandwich counter to safety and then waved a serrated knife in the air, effectively breaking up the fight.

The Chili's Spitter

Although we would prefer not to imagine the number of times an irritated waiter has done a spit-take into an unknowing customer's food, we have to face the facts when they're presented.

Earlier this year, a customer who suspected his Chili's waiter of spitting into his beverage was vindicated when DNA testing proved that the waiter's spit was present. At the time of the incident, Chili's managers denied that the employee was at fault, and he was able to keep his job until he left of his own volition months later. In February, the waiter pled guilty and was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge.