A Florida man was arrested after video caught him violently accosting a female cashier at a McDonald’s in St. Petersburg. The incident apparently started over a request for a straw.
The video begins with the man and the woman shouting at one other. Immediately, the man can be seen grabbing the woman, Yasmine James, by her shirt collar–dragging her forward and briefly over the counter. A brief fracas ensued.
James can be seen punching back in an apparent attempt to break free. Throughout the onslaught of punches, however, the man retained his grip and continued to grab at the cashier until co-workers eventually intervened and separated the two.
Kinie Biandudi filmed the shocking encounter on New Year’s Eve.
In a Facebook post, Biandudi described the order of events as she saw them:
YES this really did happen last night for all those asking me… it all started because he wanted a straw !!!
The young girl said she used to box 🥊
After this fight he came back and went behind the counter & tried to fight the manager.
The guy left before the cops arrived.
After the fight, a McDonald’s manager appears to apologetically take the man’s order.
James then walks back to retrieve her phone as the man says, “I want her ass fired, right now!”
“No, you’re going to jail!” James replies.
The man was then reportedly escorted out by the manager. The behavior of the woman’s fellow employees and manager incensed commenters online.
“That girl’s co-workers are super lame AF!” one Facebook comment noted. “WHY are they grabbing HER pulling HER OFF the customer that ATTACKED HER!? They SHOULD’VE grabbed HIM(customer)and HELD HIM til the police got there to have HIS ass locked up so that employee can press charges against him!!”
Daniel Willis Taylor was eventually arrested on two charges of simple battery.
According to a separate arrest report obtained by local NBC affiliate WFLA, Taylor kicked another employee in the stomach on his way out of the McDonald’s.
In a statement released to the outlet a spokesperson said:
Our highest priority is always the safety and well-being of our employees and customers at our restaurants. We have been in contact with the police department and are fully cooperating with their investigation.
A criminal information from Pinellas County prosecutors identified Taylor as a “transient.”
In Florida, simple battery is a first degree misdemeanor. Taylor faces up to two years in jail.
[image via screengrab]
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