JULY 14--A grocery store clerk was indicted yesterday on federal charges for allegedly giving a female shopper a yogurt sample that was tainted with his semen, and then lying to federal agents about the revolting incident.

Anthony Garcia, 32, was named in a two-count indictment filed late yesterday in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque. He is scheduled to be arraigned this morning on the felony charges. The January 25 incident was initially investigated by the Albuquerque Police Department before the case was turned over to federal officials.

Garcia is pictured in the mug shot at right.

According to a police report, the female victim told cops that she was shopping with her daughter at the Sunflower Farmers Market when she was approached by a “pushy” Garcia offering her the yogurt sample. After tasting the yogurt, the woman immediately thought the sample tasted “gross and disgusting” and, cops noted, “said it tasted like ‘semen.’”

A lab test confirmed that the yogurt sample provided by Garcia contained semen. Investigators then secured a search warrant authorizing the collection of blood and DNA samples from Garcia. Subsequent testing revealed that the semen found in the yogurt sample consumed by the female shopper matched Garcia’s DNA.

If convicted of adulterating the yogurt, Garcia faces a maximum of three years in prison, while the false statements count could result in a maximum five-year sentence. (11 pages)