BATON ROUGE — A Meals on Wheels program employee was arrested on Monday for allegedly discarding 17 cases of meals from the East Baton Rouge Council on Aging that were supposed to be delivered to elderly clients, according to a Baton Rouge Police Department arrest warrant. 

Officers say James Clay Jr., 31, threw away the 17 cases—amounting to a $ 1,000 loss for the organization—because he believed the food was no longer suitable for distribution. According to the Council on Aging, the meals reportedly stayed in agency vehicles over the weekend and spoiled. 

The Council on Aging provided officers with surveillance footage of the incident and Clay was arrested and booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on Monday on one count of theft.

The Baton Rouge Police Department did not respond to multiple requests for comment regarding this case. WBRZ previously reported that two people were involved but no further information was available at this time.