San Jose Woman Arrested in Connection With Starbucks Poisoning

San Jose police are investigating the motives of a female suspect who placed orange juice mixed with rubbing alcohol on a refrigerated shelf at a Starbucks coffee shop on Monday afternoon.

Police arrested Ramineh Benbehanian, 50, in connection with felony poisoning.

At about 3:45 p.m. on Monday, San Jose police received a call from a manager at a Starbucks coffee shop at 6009 Snell Avenue in South San Jose, reporting suspicious activity inside the shop.

According to the manager, police said an adult female entered the coffee shop and another customer saw her take two bottles of orange juice from her bag. She placed the bottles on a shelf alongside other refrigerated items.

The customer reported the activity to an employee and the suspect fled from the shop, according to police.

The employees smelled the contents and determined them to be toxic.

The San Jose Fire Department responded to the shop and determined the liquids to be a mixture of orange juice and rubbing alcohol.

One of the employees recorded the license plate number of the suspect's vehicle as she left the shop.

At about 8:30 p.m., police located the suspect at her residence in the 5800 block of Chambertin Drive in South San Jose. The officers placed Benbehanian under arrest and are continuing to investigate the incident, including any motive for the suspect's actions.

According to police, the suspect is believed to have been acting alone and the poisoning appears to be an isolated incident.

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