By: LIMA BEEN
COLUMBUS–Columbus police are investigating a threatening message found in a fortune cookie at a North Columbus Chinese restaurant Thursday, Nov. 13.
The target of the threat, a 26-year-old man, told police he had just finished eating the General Tso’s lunch special when he discovered the note inside a cookie delivered to his table, where he was dining alone.
“I was shocked when I cracked open the cookie,” said the victim, adding that he’s dined at the restaurant many times before without incident.
“I was so upset by the note, I couldn’t even eat dessert.”
The Clam does not name the victims of crimes.
The note, the contents of which has not been released, said the man would be stricken with a life-threatening illness unless he took certain steps, police said.
“The demands were very specific and personal to the victim,” said Detective John Dimas, who has been assigned to the case.
“We never advocate negotiating with criminals, so we’re working with the victim to determine the appropriate course of action for him to take.”
The owner of the restaurant, at work in the kitchen when the note was found, said he has no idea how the perpetrator slipped the sinister snack onto the plastic tray that held the victim’s bill.
“Only my relatives work here, and we’re all very nice people,” said the owner, who asked not to be named so his restaurant couldn’t be identified.
“I’d never tell one of my customers he’ll get cancer. That’s not good business. Unless it told him the truth — that the vegetables we cook with, especially carrots, have lots of antioxidants in them. Those do fight cancer.”
Police have processed the note as evidence, Dimas said, and they’re hoping to find a stray fingerprint that may lead them to its author.
The cookie itself, however, is no where to be found.
“By the time our (Crime Scene Investigators) got there, only a few crumbs were left,” Dimas said. “The victim said he didn’t eat it, so we’re not sure what happened to it.”
A police detail has been assigned to monitor the note’s recipient until officials are certain he’s no longer in danger, Dimas said.
“I’m really bummed about it,” the victim said. “I had a date tonight and now I’ve got this cop following me wherever I go.
“I don’t even understand how whoever-it-is could even give me cancer – even if I don’t do what he tells me. It’s not contagious, right?”
Just to be safe, though, he hopes the police will let him order in some Chinese food while he’s under surveillance, he said.
