BEAUMONT, Texas — The Port Arthur man charged with criminal mischief after posting a video of himself licking ice cream at a Southeast Texas Walmart last year has pleaded guilty.
D'Adrien Anderson, 24, pleaded guilty to the class A misdemeanor charge before Judge Terrence Holmes in Jefferson County Court at Law Two.
When Anderson spoke to 12News Wednesday morning before entering his plea he said he wanted to go to trial.
His sentencing has been set for March 4, 2020.
In a video posted on Facebook in August 2019, Anderson opens a container ice cream and licks it before putting it back inside the freezer at a Port Arthur Walmart.
Anderson said he bought the ice cream after shooting the video and was able to show police a receipt for the purchase.
The video was quickly shared by more than two thousand people around Southeast Texas and other parts of the country. Port Arthur police said there was a huge outcry after the video was posted.
Anderson was arrested and charged with criminal mischief, which was due to the monetary loss Walmart suffered after they were forced to throw out all of the ice cream and restock shelves.
He was released from jail after posting a $1,000 bond.
While the Facebook video appears to show Anderson walking away after putting the ice cream back in the freezer, he told 12News that he actually paid for the ice cream that he licked.
Port Arthur police said that Anderson did show them a receipt proving he purchased the ice cream.
RELATED: Port Arthur Police say Blue Bell licker in video had receipt, told them he purchased ice cream
"I knew it was going to go viral, but I didn't know it was going to go viral that fast," Anderson said.
Anderson even joked that he "trolled all of Southeast Texas". That stunt cost him his job, and he later told 12News that he was lucky to only be charged with a misdemeanor.
He also told 12News that he regretted the viral video prank and that he even received threats from people online.
Jefferson county district attorney Bob Wortham said he wished he could charge Anderson with a felony.
"This is a guy who believes the universe goes around him, he's the center of it," said Wortham.
Wortham said in August that Anderson would have a lot of restitution to pay once the case is over.
Anderson's Blue Bell licking video was one of several "copycat" videos posted to social media after a similar video was posted in July. In that video, a San Antonio teen made national headlines after video showing her lick a container of Blue Bell ice cream at a Lufkin Walmart went viral.
