The Wendy's finger in the chili attempted grand theft.
Posted by: 
ucdvicky
N 37° 18.957 W 121° 52.442
10S E 599769 N 4130516
This was the scene of the Wendy's finger in the chili incident which turned out to be a scam. The perpetrator, Anna Ayala, was charged with attempted grand theft.
Waymark Code: WM2AJ0
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 10/02/2007
Views: 112
"On March 22, 2005, Ayala alleged that she had found an amputated human finger in her chili and sued Wendy's, a fast-food restaurant chain. After an investigation by the Santa Clara County medical examiner's office and San Jose Police Department, it was determined the finger did not come from a Wendy's employee, or from any employee at the facilities that provided ingredients in the chili. Though early reports suggested that the finger was "fully cooked," the Santa Clara County coroner's office initially concluded that the finger "was not consistent with an object that had been cooked in chili at 170 degrees for three hours."[1]
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department investigated the woman's home in Las Vegas, Nevada, in relation to the case, but what, if anything, was found was not immediately disclosed. Rumors ran rampant that Ayala had a dead aunt who might be related to the case, although she denied anyone recently passed on. Ayala claimed the police treated her and her family "like terrorists," acting against her violently, but neighbors downplayed the event. Later, it was also discovered the woman had filed numerous lawsuits against various retail establishments in recent years (see section above), adding another level of mystery to the case.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department arrested Ms. Ayala on April 21, 2005, taking her to the Clark County Detention Center. Ayala was charged with felony attempted grand larceny as well as grand theft. The grand theft charge is allegedly in connection with the fraudulent sale of a San Jose mobile home that Ayala did not own between September 2002 and November 2003; in reality it was owned by her live-in boyfriend, according to a statement filed by San Jose police Detective Albert Morales. The attempted grand larceny charge is connected to the Wendy's chili finger case; a penalty enhancement was issued for inflicting more than $2.5 million in losses on Wendy's as a result of plummeting sales.
Prosecutors portrayed Ayala as a scam artist with a penchant for filing lawsuits. Tests indicate that the finger had not been cooked in the chili, according to court records. They did not indicate where they thought the finger came from.
At a press conference held in San Jose, California on April 22, 2005, local Wendy's franchise holder Joseph Desmond urged people to "please come back to Wendy's because we do serve wonderful hamburgers, shakes and everything else." Wendy's announced it would offer free Frosty shakes with any purchase to all Bay Area customers that weekend as a show of goodwill and commitment in the wake of its investigation. On May 10, Wendy's expanded its offer of free Junior-sized Frosties nationwide from May 13 to May 15, with no purchase required.[2]
On September 9, 2005, in San Jose, Ayala and her husband, Jaime Plascencia, plead guilty to conspiring to file a false claim and attempted grand theft.
On January 18, 2006, Ayala was sentenced to nine years in state prison. Her husband Jaime Plascencia, who supplied the finger, was sentenced to 12 years, 4 months in prison.[4]
In her appeal to reduce her sentence, the Sixth District Court of Appeal agreed with her, saying Judge Edward Davila's decision to impose five years for "aggravating circumstances" was based on his own fact-finding and not by a jury's conclusions.[5]" - Wikipedia
Date of crime: 03/22/2005
Public access allowed: yes
Fee required: Not Listed
Web site: Not listed
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