A former Arby’s manager in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, is facing a felony poisoning charge after police allegedly found video showing her spitting in a customer’s food, according to a report by KJRH-TV’s Erin Christy.
The customer, Jennica Church, says she later developed painful mouth outbreaks and was diagnosed with herpes. Church and her family have also filed a lawsuit, claiming the incident caused lasting fear, anxiety, and emotional distress inside their home.
The allegations are disturbing on their face, especially because they involve an act many people have heard about as a restaurant horror story but hope is never real. In this case, however, Christy reported that investigators say surveillance video from the restaurant backed up the claim that food was intentionally contaminated.
Former manager Amanda Hendricks has been charged with felony poisoning with intent to injure, according to Christy’s KJRH-TV report. A warrant had been issued for her arrest at the time of the report.
A Late-Night Stop at Arby’s
Church told Christy that she stopped at the Broken Bow Arby’s after a long night of bartending.
She said the order took longer than expected, and she wondered whether employees were upset because the restaurant was close to shutting down for the night.
“I thought they were mad at me because it was about to close,” Church recalled in the KJRH report.
Church said she had some history with Hendricks, who was the manager at the time, though she described it as nothing major. After picking up the food, she went home and shared the sandwiches with family members.
According to Christy, Church lives with her husband, children, and her husband’s grandparents. That meant the food was not only eaten by one person, but became part of a family meal shared under one roof.
The situation took a frightening turn after that night, Church said. She told KJRH that her mouth began flaring up in a way it never had before.
A doctor later diagnosed her with herpes, Church said.
She described frequent, painful outbreaks that can spread across her face and affect her eye area. In the video report, Church said the flare-ups happen several times a week and can be severe enough that her eye twitches.
How Church Connected the Illness to the Food
The obvious question, as Christy noted in her report, is how Church came to believe a medical diagnosis was connected to a fast-food order.
Church said word traveled through the small community of Broken Bow. She claimed Hendricks had been bragging about spitting in her sandwiches, and that Church’s daughter eventually heard about it.
That information prompted a closer look by police, according to the report.
Christy said the affidavit states that Broken Bow police obtained restaurant surveillance footage and saw Hendricks spit in the food. That allegation became the basis for the felony poisoning charge with intent to injure.
The charge is still an accusation, and the report does not describe a court finding that the alleged act caused Church’s medical condition. But the criminal allegation and the family’s civil lawsuit both center on the claimed contamination of the food.
It is a deeply unsettling case because food is built on trust. Customers cannot see every step of what happens behind a kitchen counter, so they have to believe the people preparing their meal will meet a basic standard of decency and safety.
Most restaurant workers take that responsibility seriously. Cases like this feel so alarming precisely because they suggest a deliberate betrayal of that expectation.
A Family Says the Fear Has Spread Beyond One Meal
Church told Christy that the diagnosis has affected far more than her own daily comfort.
She worries it could affect her work in the service industry, particularly because she understands how customers may react to visible facial outbreaks. “If I go out to eat and I see someone with a big thing on their face, I don’t want them serving me food,” she said.
Her mother-in-law, Patricia Dollarhite, described the emotional impact on the family in especially personal terms.
Dollarhite said her son was sitting at her table eating breakfast and wanted a kiss, but she felt she could not give him one. “So you bet I’m angry,” she said in Christy’s report.
She added that she was worried about what the situation was doing to her grandchildren, her son, and her husband, who had also eaten the food. Dollarhite said she was afraid of physical contact because the family did not know who might be affected.
That fear may be one of the hardest parts of the case to understand from the outside. Even when a family does not know what will happen medically, uncertainty can change normal behavior almost overnight.
Simple things such as kissing a child goodnight, sharing utensils, or sitting close at the dinner table can suddenly feel loaded with anxiety. That kind of emotional fallout is why the family says the consequences have reached far beyond a single meal.
The Lawsuit Targets More Than One Person
Church and her family have filed a lawsuit against Hendricks, Arby’s, and affiliated restaurant groups, according to Christy.
The lawsuit alleges extreme anxiety, emotional distress, and fear of infection. It also raises questions about whether other employees saw what happened and failed to intervene.
Family attorney Will Blocker told KJRH that he was stunned by what appeared to have happened inside the restaurant.
“They let it go all the way out the door and my client now has a communicable disease,” Blocker said.
He argued that the allegations could point to a broader workplace problem rather than the actions of only one employee. Blocker said the family wants to know whether the issue goes beyond the Broken Bow restaurant and could involve Flynn Restaurant Group, which he said operates hundreds of stores.
“That has to be a culture deeper than Arby’s in Broken Bow, Oklahoma,” Blocker said. “Maybe it’s Flynn Restaurant Group and all 300 different kinds of stores they own. I don’t know, but we are going to find out.”
Those comments represent the family attorney’s view and claims in the lawsuit, not a finding against the companies. Still, they show that the case is likely to involve more than the alleged conduct of one former manager.
Police Video Evidence Becomes Central to the Case
The reported surveillance footage may become one of the most important pieces of evidence in both the criminal and civil cases.
Church’s claim might otherwise have rested largely on what she says she heard in the community. But Christy reported that police reviewed video from the restaurant and allegedly saw Hendricks spit in the food.
That is why the case moved beyond an ugly rumor and into a felony poisoning charge.
At the same time, questions about medical causation, damages, employee supervision, and corporate responsibility may take much longer to sort out. Criminal allegations, civil claims, and medical outcomes often involve different standards and separate legal battles.
KJRH-TV said it reached out to Arby’s for comment but had not heard back at the time of Christy’s report.
For Church and her family, the case is not simply about a bad restaurant experience. They say it has changed how they eat, work, and interact with each other at home.
And for anyone watching from a distance, the allegation is a grim reminder that food service depends on a basic level of trust that customers rarely think about until a case like this forces them to.
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, John developed a love for the great outdoors early on. With years of experience as a wilderness guide, he’s navigated rugged terrains and unpredictable weather patterns. John is also an avid hunter and fisherman who believes in sustainable living. His focus on practical survival skills, from building shelters to purifying water, reflects his passion for preparedness. When he’s not out in the wild, you can find him sharing his knowledge through writing, hoping to inspire others to embrace self-reliance.
