MILWAUKEE, WI – Authorities have arrested a man in connection with a bizarre incident where he allegedly contaminated his colleague’s drink with a hazardous substance at a local manufacturing facility.
The incident occurred on June 5 at ETE Reman, a car transmission manufacturer in Milwaukee, when police responded to reports of employee misconduct. A criminal complaint revealed that a worker fell ill after discovering an unknown liquid in his drink the day after being allegedly tampered with.
The victim recounted that he had placed two beverages, including an Arizona Ginseng Tea, in the break room’s freezer upon arriving at work. He returned later to find an unusual greasy texture and potent chemical odor emanating from the tea bottle, which led him to suspect poisoning.
Suspicions were confirmed after the victim consulted with several colleagues, including Steven R. Cox, a 60-year-old supervisor, who was identified through surveillance footage as the alleged perpetrator.
The video evidence reportedly captured Cox entering the break room with two Pure Leaf tea bottles. After a quick survey of the room, Cox was seen tampering with the victim’s drink.
Following the act, Cox discarded the Pure Leaf bottle used in the alleged contamination. The human resources team recovered the discarded bottle, finding it to contain a similar greasy substance and odor as the tainted iced tea.
The victim, who believed previous issues with Cox had been resolved, was taken aback by the incident. Despite initial denial, Cox admitted to police he had poured power steering fluid into the drink, claiming he did so as a prank because of ongoing tensions, alleging that the victim frequently spoke poorly of him.
Cox was subsequently charged with placing foreign objects in edibles, a serious offense given the implications of his actions. He was detained and later released on bond, awaiting a court appointment scheduled for June 28. He has been assigned a public defender for his representation.