A DoorDash driver has been arrested after allegedly spraying a customer’s food with “an irritant substance” before delivering the order.
The incident, involving worker Kourtney Stevenson, was captured on December 7 by a doorbell camera.
In the footage, Stevenson can be seen dropping off an Arby’s order at an Indiana residence and seemingly taking a confirmation photo. She then sprays the bag with a substance, believed to be pepper spray, before leaving.
The DoorDash driver accused of tampering with a customer’s order offered a bizarre explanation after being arrested
Image credits: ghostpants8012
Mark Cardin, who had placed the order with his wife, immediately realized something was wrong when he saw his wife in pain.
“I noticed my wife had started eating, and she started choking and gasping,” Cardin told local media WFIE.
“After she had a couple bites of her food, she actually threw up. I had a look at the bag and saw that there was some kind of spray or something. The bag had been tampered with.”
The Evansville resident added that he did not know the woman, suggesting the attack was random.
He said he tried to reach out to Stevenson through the DoorDash app but discovered she had already blocked him.
@ghostpants8012 DoorDash or sprays my food with pepper spray DoorDash doesn’t seem to care. They only refunded my money contacted the sheriffs office and the local news linked to local news video in comments. #doordashpepperspray#doordash #doorbellcamera #foodtampering #poison ♬ original sound – @GhostPants
He then posted photos of the woman on Facebook, which helped Indiana authorities identify her.
Stevenson now faces charges that include consumer product tampering and battery resulting in moderate bodily injury.
Image credits: Mark Cardin
She was reportedly arrested in Kentucky and will be extradited to Indiana.
The driver was visiting her father in Evansville on the night of the order that she’s suspected of tainting.
“It’s horrific,” Cardin described. “We assume it’s pepper spray. That’s more than likely what it is, but now, in this day and age, it could’ve been anything. It could’ve been rat p*ison. It could’ve been fentanyl. I mean, my wife could’ve been d*ad.”
The woman claimed she used pepper spray to scare off a spider
Following her arrest, Stevenson allegedly told investigators she was trying to protect herself from a spider and attempted to scare it off with the aerosol substance.
She claimed she didn’t mean to pepper-spray the food and had instead aimed at a spider because she’s “terrified” of them.
However, authorities did not believe her, noting it was too cold at the time of the delivery—35°F (1.7°C)—for the creature to be out.
@ghostpants8012 #doordash#doordashpepperspray #realvsfakenews ♬ original sound – @GhostPants
“At that temperature, outdoor spiders in Indiana are not active and would not be capable of crawling on exposed surfaces,” the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
According to the statement, Cardin and his wife reported experiencing burning sensations in their stomachs, throats, mouths, and noses after consuming the food.
Kourtney Stevenson could be seen in Cardin’s doorbell camera using an aerosol substance
Image credits: ghostpants8012
“We live in a terrible world right now. People are mean for no reason. There was no reason to do what she’s done,” he stated.
“We have zero tolerance for this type of appalling behavior,” a DoorDash spokesperson said.
“The Dasher in question has been permanently removed from the platform, and our team is standing by to support law enforcement with any investigation.”
Cardin said he doesn’t think he’ll order food through an app ever again
Cardin urged people to remain alert when ordering food through an app and to consider having a doorbell camera as a precaution.
He said the incident has made him extremely cautious, and he’s not sure whether he will order food from a platform again.
@ghostpants8012 #doordash #doordashpepper #doordashpepperspray ♬ original sound – @GhostPants
Vanderburgh county’s sheriff, Noah Robinson, said his agency investigated Stevenson urgently because “residents should be able to trust that the food they order for their families is safe.”
“When someone violates that trust and endangers others, we will respond … and we will pursue charges,” Robinson added.
People did not buy Stevenson’s explanation for why she sprayed the food 
