Man acquitted of spitting on police burger

BURNET, Texas, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- A Texas jury found a man not guilty of spitting on a police chief's hamburger after only 20 minutes of deliberation.

Tim Cowart, a defense attorney for Jaime Perez, said jurors told him and Burnet County prosecutor Joe Greer after the verdict that there was not enough evidence for a conviction, the Austin American-Statesman reported Wednesday.

"It's fairly evident that the jury felt the state didn't prove its case," Cowart said.

Perez had been accused of spitting on Burnet Police Chief Paul Nelson's hamburger while preparing the food at the now-closed Andy's Landing restaurant in Burnet. He also allegedly put the vegetables from the burger in his mouth and rubbed the bun on his body.

Prosecutors said Nelson did not find out about the accusations until days after October 2008 incident.

"We had no physical evidence because (Chief) Paul Nelson ate it," Greer said.