Coffee Prank Brings Help, NFL Gift For Homeless Man: Reports

LAKEWOOD, NJ -- The homeless man who was paid $5 to pour coffee on himself back in January has received an outpouring of support in the wake of the incident, according to reports.

Ronald Leggatt, 65, was living in a baseball field dugout on Cedar Bridge Avenue at the time of the Jan. 18 incident at the Singin gas station at Central Avenue, when he was approached by an Orthodox man who offered him $5 if he would pour coffee on his head while the man videotaped it.

The incident sparked widespread outrage after a bystander stepped in and posted about the incident on Facebook. It also resulted in a police investigation into the incident and a separate investigation into rumors that the prank was conducted for a website hosting videos of similar pranks. The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office later determined the man who paid Leggatt was inspired by a series of YouTube videos and that a website specific to Orthodox community members committing such pranks did not exist.

According to a report on APP.com, Leggatt was a former harness driver at Freehold Raceway until the mid-1990s. Leggatt became homeless in the wake of a pair of traffic accidents that caused short-term memory issues and other behaviors, according to the APP.com report.

He had lived fairly quietly, first in Lakewood’s Tent City, then in a single-family home for a time, and then in the dugout, until the coffee incident brought him worldwide attention, according to APP.com.

In the wake of the incident -- which gained international attention -- a number of people have offered to help the man. A Jackson Township teenager got his father to start a GoFundme campaign to help, as did a woman in North Carolina who is from Lakewood originally, APP.com reported.

Others stepped up and ensured Leggatt wound up in a motel room during the blizzard that hit shortly after the coffee incident became public.

And just last week, even the San Francisco 49ers sent a care package full of 49ers items, including a new jacket to replace one Leggatt was seen wearing in the photos taken Jan. 18 by Carlos Mejia, who stepped in to stop the prank that day, according to a report by NBC Philadelphia.

Brigham told NBC Philadelphia that the 49ers reached out to him wanting to help. He surprised Leggatt on Friday with a box full of 49ers gear, including a brand new jacket.

Leggatt told APP.com that he is grateful for all the help he has received.

“They made me feel like a human being again,” he said.

Read more of the story of Leggatt’s journey here.

Watch video of the NBC Philadelphia report below.