Judge increases bond of former Hereford House worker accused of contaminating food
A Johnson County judge on Thursday declined to lower the bond — instead raising it to $500,000 — for a 21-year-old man accused of contaminating food at Leawood’s Hereford House and possessing child sex abuse materials.
Jace Christian Hanson of Kansas City and his attorney appeared in Johnson County District Court before Judge Thomas Kelly Ryan Thursday afternoon, asking to be released without bail or have a “substantial reduction” in his bond.
Hanson, who was being held in Johnson County jail on a $100,000 bond, had planned to live with his cousin in Ottowa, Kansas, and get in mental health treatment if released. He was agreeable to house arrest or electronic monitoring, according to his attorney, Sydney Wilson.
Prosecutors argued against reducing his bond, saying Hanson’s additional 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a child made him a danger to the public. Hanson is accused of possessing child sexual abuse materials of someone under the age of 18 years old. All of the 33 charges are felonies, according to court documents.
Assistant District Attorney Melinda Parrish’s voice cracked when she told the court that not only was there possession, but evidence of a chat history among Hanson and other users online about wanting to sexually exploit infants and children calling it, “shocking to the conscience (and) sadistic behavior.”
Ryan agreed with prosecutors to raise the bond $500,000.
Hanson’s court appearance comes days after prosecutors filed additional charges against him. In an amended complaint filed Tuesday, prosecutors charged Hanson with 22 counts of criminal threat for allegedly adulterating or contaminating food between April 1-23 and one count of criminal damage.
At the time of the alleged food contamination, Hanson was a part-time employee of the Hereford House in Leawood’s Town Center Plaza.
According to court documents, Hanson allegedly posted videos online under the name “Vandalizer” that showed a man urinating in restaurant-style food bins and rubbing food on his genitals and buttocks.
After receiving a tip, the FBI tied the videos to Hanson’s cellphone. The FBI contacted Leawood police, who went to the restaurant and spoke with a manager on April 25.
After the manager confirmed that Hanson was working, they asked Hanson if he knew about any food contamination.
”I’ll just be straight up, yeah,” Hanson said, according to the affidavit. He added that he’d “just been doing stupid s--t.”
Hanson, who was arrested and booked into jail, allegedly told investigators he started contaminating the food because he didn’t enjoy his job. He was initially charged with one count of criminal threat while police investigated the crime and made his first court appearance on April 26.
Last week, Leawood police said they had been contacted by more than 380 people who had eaten at the restaurant, including some who fell ill afterward.
Customers who ate there and said they fell ill with food poisoning symptoms have filed five lawsuits against the Hereford House Restaurant Company of Kansas, Inc. The lawsuits contend the restaurant was negligent, breached an implied warrant that its food was safe and should be held liable for serving a defective product to its customers.
Ryan set Hanson’s next court appearance for 11:15 p.m. on July 10.
