Pubdate: Thu, 12 Oct 2006 Source: Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL) Copyright: 2006 Sun-Sentinel Company Contact: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/159 Author: Kristen Reed, Sentinel Staff Writer MAN WHO URINATED IN DRINK HAS TEST ISSUE Ex-Clerk May Have Violated Probation DeLAND -- Anthony Mesa went to jail this year because he urinated in a bottle of Mountain Dew and an unsuspecting customer at the Deltona convenience store where he worked got violently ill after drinking the contaminated soda. Now, the former Pix store clerk could get into more trouble because he can't urinate while somebody is watching. One condition of Mesa's sentence -- six months in jail and two years of a form of house arrest -- is that he periodically urinate into a sterile cup as part of a drug test. But Mesa, 22, failed to take his court-ordered test Sept. 19. Mesa said Wednesday he has a valid reason for failing to take the test - - he has a condition known as paruresis syndrome, or shy bladder, which affects a person's ability to urinate in public or when other people are around. His probation officer has filed an affidavit with the court, asking for either stronger penalties or for Mesa to have to pay for blood-drawn drug tests in the future. "Anthony's little prank has taught him a great deal, and the irony of it all is that peeing was what got him trouble in the first place, and now not being able to is getting him trouble again," Mesa's mother, Denise Hislop, wrote the court trying to explain his actions. Mesa was in court Wednesday hoping to resolve the issue, but because of scheduling conflicts the hearing was postponed. He said that since the violation of probation was filed Sept. 22, he completed a urine test at the courthouse, where no one had to stand next to him. Court records show the test was negative for drugs or alcohol. "Hopefully, the judge will understand," Hislop said as she left the courthouse with her son. The judge will have the discretion to change Mesa's penalties, include more jail or prison time, or do nothing at all. Mesa wrote a statement concerning his violation and said he had nothing to hide, but simply had trouble urinating in public. In August 2005, Mesa admitted that he and a co-worker at Pix were playing practical jokes at work when he decided it would be funny to urinate into a Mountain Dew. A construction worker who stopped by the next day chugged the drink and immediately began vomiting. Mesa pleaded no contest to tampering with a consumer product, a first- degree felony that could have put him in prison for 30 years. Circuit Judge James R. Clayton spared Mesa from becoming a convicted felon by withholding adjudication as long as Mesa abides by the restrictions of his sentence. Court records show he has complied with all of the conditions, including writing letters of apology to Publix, which owns Pix, and the construction worker, and beginning 300 hours of community service. - --- MAP posted-by: Elaine