‘Jailer, there’s a fly
in my potatoes!’

A California rape suspect facing 112 years in prison is taking the famous line of “Waiter, there’s a fly in my soup” to a new level, claiming in effect, “Jailer, there’s a fly in my mashed potatoes.”

41-year-old Kenneth Williams is now pestering San Diego County with a demand for $20,000 for “mental stress and anguish, weight loss and pain caused by throwing up and dry heaving” after discovering the insect in his meal.

The incident took place at dinner May 2 at the George F. Bailey Detention Center in Otay Mesa, Calif.

“I stuck the spoon in the tray and ate one bite of mashed potatoes and veal patty,” Williams wrote in his claim against the county, reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune. “That’s when I noticed the dead fly buried in my potatoes.”

“It’s been almost a month since this occurred,” Williams wrote, “and I still only pick at my food. … I’m losing weight and am unable to eat properly.”

Williams says $20,000 is “extremely fair” considering he didn’t wing his story directly to the news media. He thinks the buzz on the street would cost the county “a great deal more both financially and in bad publicity.”

According to the Union-Tribune, Williams is currently awaiting trial for the rape of a 16-year-old girl and could receive 112 years to life in prison if convicted. Authorities told the paper it would be his third and last trip to state prison.

Williams allegedly broke into an apartment last September and raped the teen who had been asleep on the couch.

Officials linked Williams to the crime by DNA several months after the incident, prosecutor Patrick Espinoza told the paper.

San Diego County has not yet acted on the “fly in my mash” claim. If it swats it down, which is routine with virtually all claims, Williams could then bug the county with a lawsuit.