ONE HERB TOO MANY AT MILL VALLEY KFC

An employee at a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet in Mill Valley was
arrested for allegedly selling a substance not included in Col.
Sanders' 11 secret herbs and spices.

After a customer complained of receiving two bags of marijuana instead
of extra biscuits, Marin County sheriff's deputies set up a sting that
led to the arrest of a KFC employee on Friday.

Carlos Leonel Ayala, 26, of Vallejo was arrested on his way to work
Friday at the KFC at 515 Miller Ave., according to the Marin County
Sheriff's Department. He had a loaded handgun, a small amount of
marijuana and $500 in cash in his possession, deputies said.

Authorities also searched Ayala's home in Vallejo and the fast-food
restaurant but would not reveal whether they found anything illegal.
Employees at the Miller Avenue KFC declined comment Saturday.

At the KFC outlet where he worked, drive-up customers would order food
by talking into a intercom. Then an employee, often Ayala, would take
the order to the customer's car and receive payment.

"We believe that he was selling marijuana to customers who used the
right slang term" as code, said Sheriff's Sgt. Tim Lepinski of the
Marin County Major Crimes Task Force.

The investigation was prompted after an unwitting customer asked for
extra biscuits with an order of fried chicken and was handed two
baggies of marijuana instead, the sergeant said. The outraged
customer, whose name was not released, returned the drugs to the
employee, renewed his demand for extra biscuits and called Mill Valley
police, who referred the case to the task force.

Undercover law enforcement personnel were able to obtain marijuana
repeatedly from Ayala, making most of their buys during school hours.
The restaurant is near Tamalpais High School and draws many students
at lunchtime or after school.