Copycat arrested for licking Blue Bell ice cream in Louisiana

A 36-year-old man in Louisiana has been arrested after filming himself licking a tub of Blue Bell ice cream and returning it to a store's freezer. The man, Lenise Martin III, was allegedly copying a teenager's viral video in which she performed the same act at a Walmart in Texas.

In the video, which was shared online, Martin can be seen licking the opened tub of ice cream twice and sticking his finger inside of it before smiling at the camera and placing it back in the store's freezer.

The Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Martin was taken into custody on Saturday, according to WAFB-TV.

According to investigators, after the management of the store was made aware of the video, Martin returned to show the clerk a receipt, which suggested he purchased the contaminated ice cream.

Management alerted authorities who questioned Martin, and he was ultimately charged with unlawful posting of criminal activity for notoriety and publicity and tampering with property.

"He puts it on Facebook to gain this notoriety and at the end of the day, it gives other people ideas that are not the best interest of public health," commander Lonny Cavalier told CNN. "He did it and he did want to create some notoriety for himself by posting it on Facebook and that's exactly what he did."

A spokesperson for the Assumption Parish Sheriff’s Office told WAFB-TV that they plan to pursue and charge any future copycat "immediately and with the full extent of the law."

The sheriff's office believes, based on comment Martin made, that he was inspired by the video of a teenager who, before deleting her Instagram, wrote, "You can call it Flu Bell ice cream now 'cause I was a lil sick last week. Repost yourself doing this with the hashtag #tinroofchallenge. Let's see if we can start an epidemic (literally)."

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