A rebuffed suitor urinated in his co-worker’s water bottle, authorities say — but he contends it wasn’t done out of malice.

Conrrado Cruz Perez, 47, of Minneapolis, was charged with two counts of adulterating a substance with bodily fluids. The crime was reported in October by a fellow employee at Perkins, a chain restaurant where Cruz Perez worked as a baker in the St. Paul suburb of Vadnais Heights.

The 42-year-old woman told investigators that she had noticed 15 times over the previous few months that water in her bottle tasted like urine, the complaint said. She became suspicious of Cruz Perez, who had expressed romantic interest in her. The urine incidents started after she told him she wanted only to be friends with him, she said.

Cruz Perez initially told Ramsey County sheriff’s deputies that he had not tampered with the bottle. When investigators said they might test for DNA traces on the bottle, he told a different story:

He needed to use the bathroom, he told them, but the restaurant was too busy for him to take a break, so he relieved himself in the bottle. He said he intended to throw it away but forgot.

A Perkins manager said Cruz Perez was fired immediately after the allegations. He has no criminal record other than parking tickets.

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Cruz Perez made his first appearance on the charges last week and has not entered a plea. He is scheduled to appear in court March 28.