Mission Viejo Water Bottle Tamper-er Arrested In Burbank: Cops

MISSION VIEJO, CA —A suspect seen tampering with water bottles at both a Mission Viejo and Burbank grocery store in June was arrested on an unrelated charge this week, Orange County Sheriff's Department reported.

On June 17, Mission Viejo Ralph's grocery store cameras caught a man wearing an orange shirt tampering with water bottles. The same man was seen in Burbank three days later, also in the water aisle, tampering with water. A witness, in that case, reported the man's license plate number and a description of his vehicle, Mission Viejo Police Services Lt. Quyen Vuong reported over social media.

"Burbank detectives and OCSD investigators worked closely together on the case," Vuong said. Burbank police took the suspect into custody, and when interviewed, he admitted to being at the Mission Viejo and Burbank Ralphs.

According to Vuong, the suspect "believed that many bottled water brands contained unknown contaminants that were making him ill."

The suspect told officials that "he was testing the water brands to determine which brand was the cleanest water," using an "electronic water purification testing device at both store locations."

Upon investigation, officers discovered several water purification pitchers inside his vehicle.

The Orange County Crime Lab conducted tests on tampered-with bottled water from the Mission Viejo store and did not detect any substances added to the water.