Wendy's Workers Feared Man Died in Bathroom

Employees of the Wendy’s restaurant in South Bethlehem were afraid that a man who had locked himself in the men’s room had died when he never came out and didn’t respond to calls, according to police.

Responding officers found the man passed out on the floor of the men’s room with an uncapped hypodermic needle lying next to him and needle marks on his left arm, according to court records.

Outside, Wendy’s employees were “very shaken and concerned” that the man was dead, police said. Male and female customers were forced to share the ladies bathroom while the incident continued, police said.

In an affidavit of probable cause describing the events of April 19, Bethlehem Police Officer William Marques wrote that he retrieved the man’s wallet from a pants pocket to obtain his identification.

While doing that, Marques wrote, he found two blue wax bags marked “Go Happy” that contained an off-white powder that later tested positive for heroin.

On Monday, police charged Timothy J. Farrell, 32, of 1630 Lindberg Road, Bethlehem Township, with possession of heroin and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Farrell was arraigned before District Judge Nancy Matos-Gonzalez and committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $5,000 bail.

The bathrooms at this Wendy's have been used for drug activity before. In November, a 19-year-old city woman was arrested for injecting heroin into an underage girl in the restaurant's ladies room.