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Patrons of a Japanese steakhouse in Florida are suing the establishment after they say they ate food containing methamphetamine.
Jordan Gray, her husband Brandon Gray, and Mathew Gilley have sued the Nikko Japanese Steakhouse and Sushi Bar, in Pace, some 15 miles north of Pensacola near the Alabama border. According to their complaint filed in Santa Rosa County in September, they were three of several diners who were poisoned after eating at Nikko’s, where they were seated at a hibachi table.
“On or about June 9, 2023, after their visit to Defendant Nikko’s restaurant, Plaintiffs began to experience rising heart rate, increased sweating, rapid speech, racing thoughts, dizziness, nausea, excess energy, inability to sleep, vomiting, paranoia, fear, and/or anxiety,” the complaint says.
According to the complaint, they went to the emergency room, where they were “tested for intoxicants.” At a press conference, Jordan Gray said that she and her husband encountered the family seated at the same table at the restaurant. They were also sick.
“At the Santa Rosa Medical Center on or about June 10, 2023, plaintiffs each tested positive for exposure to methamphetamine,” the complaint says.
The Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office tested some of the plaintiffs’ leftovers and found the food was positive for methamphetamine.
Nikko Japanese Sushi Bar in Pace, Florida. Inset top: Plaintiff Jordan Gray alleges she was poisoned with methamphetamine in the food at the restaurant. Inset bottom: Plaintiff Matthew Gilley (images via YouTube screengrab/WKRG).
“I mean, I was horrified,” Jordan Gray said at a press conference in June, according to local Fox affiliate WALA. “As a nurse, as a professional in the community, as a mother, I was terrified.”
“I lost a lot of weight to a lack of wanting to eat,” Gilley said, according to Mobile CBS affiliate WKRG. “A desire to not feel like I was feeling that night, I didn’t drink any water for days.”
Gilley also said his heart rate spiked to “nearly 200. I was horrified at what that meant.”
As the Pensacola News Journal reported, an investigation by the Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office into the drugging was closed due to a lack of evidence. Investigators were unable to determine whether anyone associated with the restaurant put the drugs in the food, and reports that an employee might have accidentally tainted the food could not be confirmed.
Nikko’s closed its doors for good in July.
The plaintiffs allege negligence, failure to warn, strict liability, and breach of implied warranty. They seek an unspecified amount but allege their damages exceed $50,000.
In a court filing, the restaurant has denied the allegations and seeks to dismiss two of the counts in the complaint.
Read the complaint below.
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