Court: Southbridge McDonald's worker in french fry case targeted former girlfriend

SOUTHBRIDGE – The McDonald’s worker who allegedly grabbed a handful of french fries, put them in her mouth and then served them to a drive-thru customer has been charged in court.

Authorities say she targeted her ex-girlfriend with the contaminated fries.  

Kaylie M. Santos, 22, of Southbridge, is charged with distributing food with a harmful substance, according to court records. She is slated to be arraigned June 5 in Dudley District Court. 

A video of the worker was shared on social media. In the video, taken in the McDonald’s kitchen area, Santos, who was the night manager of the Southbridge McDonald’s, could be heard saying, “When your girlfriend wants french fries today right. She wants french fries today right.” 

The Sellia Group, which owns the Southbridge McDonald's, previously told the T&G that it had fired two workers in connection with the incident.

In the video, Santos is seen grabbing a handful of fries, putting them in her mouth and placing them in a french fry carton, according to court documents. 

It happened April 9, according to surveillance footage from the fast-food restaurant.  

A police report, filed with court records, gave the following account:

At 10:23 p.m., Santos is seen at the drive-thru window conversing with a customer. She goes to the heated fry dump station and grabs a take-out bag. A crew member places a carton in it.

Santos then grabs her cell phone as another crew team member is prepping a second french fries carton. Santos grabs the empty carton and appears to spit into the carton, then wipes her lips with her right hand, Both are observed laughing on the surveillance footage. 

Santos grabs her cell phone and is seen making a selfie video as she places numerous french fries in her mouth and then places them into the carton. 

Santos places the second, now full, carton into the to-go bag. Santos then walks to the drive-thru window and hands the bag to the customer. Santos and the other crew team member are seen laughing about the incident on the video surveillance. 

By watching the video surveillance from the drive-thru, police were able to identify the customer who allegedly received the contaminated fries. 

May 12, Sgt. Evan T. Genkos talked to the woman who received the fries. The witness said she had seen the video that was posted online. She confirmed she was the one who received the fries.

The witness said she and Santos dated for approximately two years and broke up in October 2024. She said Santos was mad because she is now dating someone else; she said Santos has been harassing her and her new partner, court records show. 

The witness said she only ordered two Dr. Pepper soft drinks but was handed a bag of fries, too. The witness said she didn’t think much of it, took the fries and ate them. 

"Santos who worked as a manager at McDonald’s was held to a higher standard as she was expected to lead the shift operations by ensuring high quality food, friendly service and overall cleanliness of not only of the restaurant but of the food being served as well,” Genkos wrote in his report. “In this case, Santos failed to adhere to the safe handling and cleanliness of the food provided to all customers, including [the witness]. The incident was targeted directly to [the witness] as she and Santos had been in dating relationship in the past. At this point, it does not appear any other customers were affected with Santos’ actions.” 

May 12 a no trespass order against Santos was completed and signed by the owner and operator of the McDonald’s at 515 East Main St.