Iranian Jihadi attempts to poison OJ at Starbucks

[muman613]

This case is just breaking...

Yesterday a woman named Ramineh Behbehanian walked into a Starbucks and placed several tainted containers of Orange Juice into the refrigerator. The packages were contaminated with Rubbing Alcohol which, according to the authorities, was in a concentration which could cause death to those who drank it. Due to the vigilance of a Starbucks customer who alerted the employees her plan backfired. An employee took down her license plate number as she fled the store when she realized she had been busted.

This woman is not a low-life scum but rather a well educated scientist who works as a Chemical Engineer and a Physical Chemist, who has worked for several high-profile companies including Pfizer, Boston Scientific and Johnson & Johnson.

No motive has been provided for her crime, but it seems that she may have been attempting to wage Jihad against the infidels right here in San Jose California...

http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_23138888/san-jose-starbucks-poison-suspect-booked-suspicion-attempted

San Jose: Starbucks poison suspect booked on attempted murder rap

By Robert Salonga and Mark Gomez
Mercury News

SAN JOSE -- An experienced corporate chemist and pharmacist from South San Jose became an accused would-be killer Monday in bizarre fashion: By eschewing her vast expertise and allegedly making a crude mix of rubbing alcohol and orange juice she tried to sneak into the display case of a Starbucks just as it was filling with high schoolers out for the day.

Police haven't revealed exactly whom, if anyone, she might have been targeting. But they felt strongly enough to arrest her on suspicion of attempted murder after the simple ploy was literally sniffed out by an alert customer and a sharp-eyed employee who took note of her car's license plate number as she made a hasty exit.



Initial tests of the bottles revealed them to have a potentially lethal amount of the household solvent.

"If it weren't for the actions of that customer, I believe we'd be talking about a homicide right now," said Sgt. Jason Dwyer, a police spokesman.

Ramineh Behbehanian, 50, has been in jail without bail since her Monday night arrest. It remains unclear why she allegedly put the tainted juice bottles into the refrigerated display case at the coffee chain's shop on Snell Avenue.

Luckily, no one drank the toxic concoction largely because her alleged means and tactics were as clear as the alcohol she purportedly mixed. A coffee-shop regular was standing behind her in line about 3:45 p.m. and watched as she pulled two bottles out of her green Starbucks bag and placed them in the open-air fridge.

The customer immediately alerted a store manager, apparently spooking Behbehanian into leaving, but not before an employee got a glimpse of her license plate, police said.

Employees immediately grabbed the bottles of orange juice and examined them. They realized the seals had been broken and smelled "something toxic," Dwyer said.

They called 911, summoning San Jose police and the San Jose Fire Department, which brought its hazardous materials team. After clearing out the store, the hazmat technicians -- who are trained to respond to events as high-level as the deployment of weapons of mass destruction -- took samples of the liquid and ran it through a portable mass spectrometer that confirmed it was isopropyl alcohol, a common household solvent.

"It was significant enough to be seriously harmful. I can't say it will cause death, but it's a possibility," said Capt. Cleo Doss, fire department spokesman. "It depends on how much you consume. They could have a sip and stop, or someone who couldn't smell it, maybe had a cold, might drink more."

Using the information provided by the customer and the employee, police tracked Behbehanian to her home 5 miles west on Chambertin Drive and after some questioning arrested her.

Her LinkedIn page states that she has a master's degree in physical chemistry and chemical engineering from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania and worked as a scientist, engineer or project manager for a string of high-profile corporations including Pfizer, Boston Scientific and Johnson & Johnson. At the time of her arrest she was working at Janssen, a pharmaceutical subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, which was confirmed by a company spokesman Tuesday.
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[kyel]

How did she expect people not to taste it? Isn't that the same thing as household alcohol i mean that would be a bit obvious i'm sure one sip wouldn't kill anyone...kind of surprised she's iranian she looks like she belongs in Ireland!!

[Lewinsky Stinks, Dr. Brennan Rocks]

That is an Armenian name.

[Zelhar]

I thought so too, she is probably Armenian. But there are Armenians from Iran.

[JTFenthusiast2]

I hate to break it, especially to this BEAST, but she seems like she wouldn't have passed junior high school earth science.  You can't put isopropyl alcohol in anything without having it stink.  She either is a complete inexplicable nut jub, or someone who wanted to get caught for whatever reason

[Zelhar]

I hate to break it, especially to this BEAST, but she seems like she wouldn't have passed junior high school earth science.  You can't put isopropyl alcohol in anything without having it stink.  She either is a complete inexplicable nut jub, or someone who wanted to get caught for whatever reason

Is Isopropyl toxic like methanol ? Does it make one blind ?

[JTFenthusiast2]

Is Isopropyl toxic like methanol ? Does it make one blind ?

Methanol is different. It's also called wood alcohol. One's of it's by-products is toxic to the nerve fiber tracts of the eye ( I dont know why it targets this tract in particular).  Isopropyl Alcohol makes people flush, feel nauseous, lightheaded.  I believe methanol is more toxic anf life threatening.  I can't remember their antidotes. One of them is IV ethanol I think

[Zelhar]

I use denatured 70% alcohol for cleaning and sterilizing surfaces and faucet handles etc. In Israel there is "medical grade" Alcohol which can be used to disinfect cuts and sterilize medical equipment like temperature reader (of course it is for "external" use only and mustn't be ingested); And there is also a cheaper product "cleaning alcohol" it also says 70% denatured alcohol but apparently it's not safe for medical use. I am not sure if it means I shouldn't use it to sterilize surfaces on regular basis, I hope it's not dangerous.

[angryChineseKahanist]

Well. Looks like everybody has already said the obvious - Rubbing alcohol stinks.
What a brilliant plot.
Like I always say: the koran makes you stooobid.

[muman613]

I post this on a suspicion of my own. I don't know if there is evidence of this. I also noted that some comments on the talkbacks also suspected some kind of terrorism link... But we will not know till the case comes to court..

[Sveta]

Yes you can definitely smell it. I think the average person would smell something wrong with it.. or spit it right out. But not everyone would have that capability. Working in the customer service field, I can say with confidence that a lot of customers are just plain idiots. Just because we would smell something wrong with it or taste it right away does not mean that some fool would not understand that something was tainted. That and old people or kids might not have the same average understanding as the rest of us. I think there is a good chance that someone might have taken a big gulp of the drink. So it is right to charge her with attempted murder, among her other charges.

[JTFenthusiast2]

I use denatured 70% alcohol for cleaning and sterilizing surfaces and faucet handles etc. In Israel there is "medical grade" Alcohol which can be used to disinfect cuts and sterilize medical equipment like temperature reader (of course it is for "external" use only and mustn't be ingested); And there is also a cheaper product "cleaning alcohol" it also says 70% denatured alcohol but apparently it's not safe for medical use. I am not sure if it means I shouldn't use it to sterilize surfaces on regular basis, I hope it's not dangerous.

Hi Zelhar,

I dont know about this.  What are you trying to sterilize?  The fumes are noxious, be careful

[angryChineseKahanist]

Denatured alcohol can be used as disinfectant, paint thinner or fuel.
And yes, it really stinks.

[JTFenthusiast2]

Denatured alcohol can be used as disinfectant, paint thinner or fuel.
And yes, it really stinks.

Exactly right, couldnt remember, whats the diff between the 79 vs 90 % ?

[Zelhar]

Hi Zelhar,

I dont know about this.  What are you trying to sterilize?  The fumes are noxious, be careful

Germs and viruses. I am germophobic, sometimes I just can't help it and I must disinfect stuff. I only spray a little bit, then I leave the room ventilated so I won't breath much of this stuff.

Exactly right, couldnt remember, whats the diff between the 79 vs 90 % ?

The seller at the pharmacy told me the 90% alcohol is more likely to cause skin irritation.

[JTFenthusiast2]

Germs and viruses. I am germophobic, sometimes I just can't help it and I must disinfect stuff. I only spray a little bit, then I leave the room ventilated so I won't breath much of this stuff.
The seller at the pharmacy told me the 90% alcohol is more likely to cause skin irritation.

I have someone come in every two weeks to clean. I cannot get myself to clean the bathroom!  I could clean someone else's house to get it ready for family friends, but I cannot get it together to clean my own toilet!

[Debbie Shafer]

My God, are we going to have to worry about our food sources now?