Woman who licked ice cream then put it back in supermarket freezer faces 20 YEARS in prison, cops say

THE woman who was filmed licking an ice cream tub and then putting it back in a supermarket could face 20 years behind bars. Cops said they had tracked down the felonious fridge raider  – who’s believed to have been filmed last Friday night. Police in Lufkin, Texas, said they believed they had identified the […]

THE woman who was filmed licking an ice cream tub and then putting it back in a supermarket could face 20 years behind bars.

Cops said they had tracked down the felonious fridge raider  – who’s believed to have been filmed last Friday night.

Police in Lufkin, Texas, said they believed they had identified the frozen-treat fiend after “detectives had obtained surveillance video placing a woman matching the suspect description in the Lufkin [Walmart] on June 28 around 11 p.m.”

They are waiting to confirm the identity of the “Lufkin Licker” before issuing her with an arrest warrant for second-degree tampering with a consumer product.

The charge carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years and a $10,000 (£8,000) fine.

The footage went viral after it was posted online last weekend – with more than 11million views on Twitter.

In the grim clip, a man can be heard encouraging the women – saying: “Lick it, lick it, lick it!”

He then urges her to “put it back” in the supermarket freezer – before she reseals the Blue Bell-branded treat.

The nine second video was posted to Twitter on Saturday with the caption: “What kinds psychopathic behaviour is this?!”

Detectives believe they have the woman identified and the investigation is ongoing

Lufkin Police

After viewers were left outraged, cops in Lufkin, Texas, say they have tracked down the woman in the clip following a tip off.

Lufkin Police also released a CCTV image of a woman they believe to be the wanted licker – who they plan on charging.

And in a relief for shoppers, they were also able to identify and remove the tainted ice cream from the Walmart store in Lufkin.

A Lufkin Police spokesman said: “Detectives believe they have the woman identified and the investigation is ongoing.”

TAINTED TUB REMOVED

They later added: “Once her identity is verified, detectives will proceed with getting a warrant for her arrest on a charge of second-degree felony tampering with a consumer product.”

Gerald Williamson, Lufkin Director of Public Safety, said: “Our biggest concern is consumer safety — in that regard we are glad to see the tainted product off the shelves.

“We are recommending that as a precaution Blue Bell remove products from the Lufkin Walmart shelves until our investigation is complete.”

Blue Bell ice cream said in a statement: “Our staff recognised the location in the video, and we inspected the freezer case.”

They added: “Food tampering is not a joke, and we will not tolerate tampering with our products.”