Man charged with stealing State Fair turkey legs

A man faces criminal charges for allegedly stealing food from a state fair vendor booth after hours.

Travis Quintin Hurd made his initial court appearance Monday on three counts including burglary, a felony, theft and criminal mischief, both misdemeanors.

According to court documents, Hurd was seen taking a tray of 14 cooked turkey legs from the “Taste of the South” booth just before 5 a.m. Friday. The booth was unlocked.

The document says the private security guard who spotted Hurd questioned his behavior, and Hurd identified himself and admitted to taking the turkey legs. The security guard allowed him to leave.

The report also says food items including fish fillets, sausage balls, jalapeno poppers, ranch dressing and strawberry sauce were strewn about the booth, causing and estimated $1,775 in product loss and $100 in labor costs to clean up the mess. The booth’s owner also estimated the retail value of the missing turkey legs at $140.

The charging document says Hurd was a carnival employee who also had an outstanding city warrant for contempt of court at the time of the incident. The responding Cascade County sheriff’s deputy arrested him on the warrant and questioned him about the missing food.

The deputy reported that Hurd spontaneously told him he initially took food from the booth because he was hungry. Hurd later said during questioning that he entered the booth after he had been drinking, and he dumped the food on the floor because it was uncooked and he couldn’t eat it.

Charging documents indicate Hurd’s criminal history includes assault, theft, criminal trespass to property and partner/family member assault.

Hurd’s bail was set at $7,500.