A Florida bride and her wedding caterer have been arrested and accused of lacing wedding food, including lasagna, with cannabis and causing several guests to become sick, according to their arrest warrant affidavits.
Bride, Danya Shea Svoboda, and caterer, Joycelyn Montrinice Bryant, have been charged with culpable negligence, delivery of marijuana, and violating Florida’s Anti-Tampering Act, the affidavits say.
One affidavit alleges Svoboda “agreed to and allowed Joycelyn Montrinice Bryant to lace the food she served … with cannabis unbeknownst to the attendees, many of whom became very ill and required medical attention”.
When Seminole County Deputies arrived at a community clubhouse in Longwood, several wedding guests were being treated by county fire rescue personnel for symptoms consistent with that of someone who has used illegal drugs, according to one of the affidavits.
Per reports, when a deputy asked Danya and her husband, Andrew Svoboda, whether they had requested or consented to the food containing cannabis, Andrew stared at the deputy with a blank expression for a few moments before stuttering the word “no”, the affidavits read.
Deputies collected food and glassware from the wedding venue that had been used by guests, including a beer glass, lasagna, and desserts, the affidavits stated. The lasagna later tested positive for THC, a substance found in cannabis, according to the documents.
Tests showed at least 3 guests with positive results
Some guests reported feeling “stoned, ill and high,” the affidavits noted, while another said he felt “weird, tingly, fidgety, and had an extremely dry mouth” after eating food at the wedding.
According to the affidavits, one woman who attended the wedding told an investigator that while she was at the hospital, she felt paranoid and “believed her husband wasn’t telling her the truth about other family members,” and that her son-in-law had died and no one was telling her. She disclosed that she became loud and unruly in the emergency room and had to be given medication to calm down.
Lab tests showed three wedding guests had urine tests that were positive for cannabis, according to the affidavits.
One guest told investigators that after she realized she was high, she asked Svoboda if she had put marijuana in the olive oil. The guest told a deputy Svoboda answered “yes” and acted excited, according to the documents.
However, another guest said when she texted Svoboda from the hospital asking her what was happening and what she was given, the bride responded, “we have no idea,” the affidavits stated.
A friend of the bride, Cady, who is an artist, narrating what happened at the wedding noted that the event was pretty traumatic; emotionally traumatic.
“To be violated this way from someone you like and trust is really hurtful. I didn’t have an option or say. Even if people avoided things like the olive oil, it was still in the bread, in the pasta,” Cady lamented.
According to Cady, the food took forever to arrive, however, the energy in the room shifted soon after guests cleared their plates. She noted that people weren’t getting up to dance.
“Everyone was kind of sitting on the sidelines. That was kind of the first red flag. What’s happening at this wedding? Around that time, we started looking around and everyone’s giggling,” Cady stated.
Cady further explained that even recreational cannabis smokers said the “normal-looking meal hit them like a truck. You can only imagine the rest of us with no tolerance. We thought we were dying”.
The artist noted that there were elderly parents and grandparents in attendance, including some who are on sensitive heart medications that should not be mixed with marijuana.
Meanwhile, many of the guests claimed they would be pressing charges against those who tampered with the food. According to court records, both Svoboda and Bryant have bonded out of Seminole County Jail and will be arraigned in June.
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