Category: Cops and Courts

Cops and Courts

Iowa Papa John’s employee run over in parking lot by cellphone thief

The latest crime news across the world of 48,000 restaurants*.

Crime scene tapeA man ran over a Des Moines Papa John’s Pizza employee with his car in the restaurant’s parking lot after stealing another employee’s cellphone Sunday afternoon, according to a police report.

The victim of the hit-and-run told police he and a co-worker ran outside after seeing an unknown man in the passenger side of the co-worker’s car in the parking lot, according to the Des Moines Register. When the man saw the two employees running outside, he reportedly grabbed a cellphone out of the car and jumped into his own vehicle. The suspect locked his car’s doors, according to the report.

The the hit-and-run victim started pounding on the suspect’s car windows until the suspect put the car in reverse and ran over the victim’s legs.The victim sustained cuts and scrapes to his elbows and legs, the newspaper said.

Taco Bell

In Ohio’s Washington Township, two suspects robbed a Taco Bell restaurant of an undetermined amount of cash at gunpoint Monday night, according to police. No employees were hurt during the robbery, according to WDTN.

* Yum has 43,000 KFCs, Pizza Huts and Taco Bells in nearly 140 countries; Papa John’s has 4,900 outlets in 37 countries, and Texas Roadhouse has 485 restaurants across the U.S. and in five other nations. With that many locations, crimes inevitably occur — with potentially serious legal consequences for the companies.

Cops and Courts

Colorado Springs police release 312-page report on fatal July shooting outside Taco Bell

The latest crime news across the world of 48,000 restaurants*.

Crime scene tapeNeighbors painted a conflicting picture of 80-year-old Jack Rogers, who fatally shot 23-year-old Jesse Garcia on July 17 with a semi-automatic handgun in a Taco Bell parking lot, according to a 312-page case file Colorado Springs Police Department released yesterday.

Charges were not filed against Rogers following the road rage-related shooting, a decision that was made July 28, according to the case file, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette.

* Yum has 43,000 KFCs, Pizza Huts and Taco Bells in nearly 140 countries; Papa John’s has 4,900 outlets in 37 countries, and Texas Roadhouse has 485 restaurants across the U.S. and in five other nations. With that many locations, crimes inevitably occur — with potentially serious legal consequences for the companies.

Cops and Courts

Reward offered in Ohio robbery death of Navy Veteran at Taco Bell drive-thru

The latest crime news across the world of 48,000 restaurants*.

Crime scene tapePolice are offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of a suspect who shot and killed a 49-year-old Navy veteran at a Taco Bell drive-thru on Sunday in Lorain, Ohio.

Robert Gnizak of Lorain was found dead in the car when police arrived at the restaurant at 11:03 p.m. He was riding in the car with a female friend when the robbery occurred, according to the Chronicle newspaper.

Robert Gnizak
Gnizak

While they were pulled up to order food, a man came up to the passenger side of the car and tried to rob the occupants, before fatally shooting Gnizak, the newspaper said today. It wasn’t clear from the newspaper’s account whether Gnizak was on the passenger side or behind the wheel. Another customer  in a car behind them called 911, police said.

It was the second killing Sunday at a Louisville-based restaurant chain. In Fort Wayne, a 28-year-old man was killed and another man was injured during a shooting outside a Texas Roadhouse in Fort Wayne. Police and court records said the victim had gotten into a fight with members of a motorcycle-riding group he once belonged to. A suspect has been arrested and charged with murder in the case.

* Yum has 43,000 KFCs, Pizza Huts and Taco Bells in nearly 140 countries; Papa John’s has 4,900 outlets in 37 countries, and Texas Roadhouse has 485 restaurants across the U.S. and in five other nations. With that many locations, crimes inevitably occur — with potentially serious legal consequences for the companies.

Cops and Courts

Murder trial date to be set today for man charged with shooting co-worker at Elizabethtown KFC-Taco Bell in February

The latest crime news across the world of 48,000 restaurants*.

Crime scene tapeA judge ruled yesterday that Joshua Ratliff, 27, was competent to stand trial on charges of murder, wanton endangerment of a police officer, and evading police, according to WLKY-TV.

Investigators say Ratliff shot 22-year-old Ryan Birse multiple times last February at the combination KFC-Taco Bell restaurant and then led police on a short pursuit, the station said. A witness had WLKY that Ratliff walked out the door with a gun at his side.

Joshua Ratliff
Ratliff

Despite having a relatively high IQ of 110, the defense argued Ratliff had a history of psychiatric problems and wouldn’t be able to participate in his own defense. The judge disagreed, however, saying Ratliff had the capacity to participate rationally in his own defense.

A defense psychiatrist had testified at an earlier hearing about Ratliff’s mental state. “He had delusions that his parents were trying to poison him, delusions that someone had taken on his mother’s identity,” psychiatrist Douglas Ruth said.

Ratliff’s expected trial date comes after an especially grim period of murders at fast-food chains owned by Louisville companies. Sunday in Lorain, Ohio, a man was killed in an apparent robbery attempt in a Taco Bell drive-thru around 11 p.m. Details were scarce, and an Internet search this morning didn’t turn up any fresh news.

Also Sunday, in Fort Wayne, a 28-year-old man was killed and another man was injured during a shooting outside a Texas Roadhouse in Fort Wayne. Police and court records said the man killed had gotten into a fight with members of a motorcycle gang he once belonged to. A suspect has been arrested and charged with murder in the case.

Video emerges in Roadhouse case

A witness, who asked to remain anonymous, said the victim, Jeff Lute, had been harassed by members of the bike gang for months amid a feud that apparently started months ago when Lute decided to quit the gang, WISH-TV said today.

The witness told the station members of the group weren’t going to let him go easy; they threatened Lute’s life and slashed his tires. Lute had filed multiple police reports since January, he said.

WISH obtained home surveillance video of someone slashing Lute’s tires that the station published its story this morning.

* Yum has 43,000 KFCs, Pizza Huts and Taco Bells in nearly 140 countries; Papa John’s has 4,900 outlets in 37 countries, and Texas Roadhouse has 485 restaurants across the U.S. and in five other nations. With that many locations, crimes inevitably occur — with potentially serious legal consequences for the companies.

Cops and Courts

Fort Wayne cops ID 28-year-old victim in fatal Texas Roadhouse shooting last night; was allegedly targeted by motorcycle club members

The latest crime news across the world of 48,000 restaurants*.

Crime scene tapePolice have identified the victim in a fatal shooting late last night at a Fort Wayne Texas Roadhouse as 28-year old Jeff Lute, and a court documents suggest the incident involved a motorcycle gang Lute once belonged to.

Earlier today, police arrested 29-year old Andrew Cassaday and charged him with murder in connection with the shooting. A second man was shot, but he was taken to a hospital where he was recovering.

The Allen County Coroner’s Office says Lute died at the scene from a gunshot wound, according to WHAS-TV. The restaurant is at 710 West Washington Center Road.

Justin Clark told detectives he had dinner with Lute, then as they walked out of the restaurant about 9:30 p.m., members of a local motorcycle club were hovering around Clark’s car, according to a new report by WPTA-TV.

“There had been an ongoing disagreement between the bike gang and the victim, and their paths crossed at this local eatery,” Officer Michael Joyner with the Fort Wayne Police Department told the station.

Court documents suggested the bike club members were waiting for Lute, who’d apparently been a former club member.

A chase around building

Clark said one of those members, Philip Elkins, started threatening Lute, eventually taking a swing at him, WPTA said. Lute then pulled out a gun and shot Elkins in the leg, according to court documents cited by the station.

Andrew Cassady
Cassady

Clark told police the club members chased Lute around the building. Cassaday didn’t join the chase, according to Clark, instead grabbing his girlfriend’s gun out of a car, waiting for Lute to come around the corner, then  shooting him in the neck, WPTA says.

Cassaday allegedly got back in his car, picked up the injured Elkins, and drove him to the hospital. More news coverage.

Here’s a photo of the restaurant from Google Street View:

Fort Wayne Texas Roadhouse
The chase would have occurred around that building.

* Yum has 43,000 KFCs, Pizza Huts and Taco Bells in nearly 140 countries; Papa John’s has 4,900 outlets in 37 countries, and Texas Roadhouse has 485 restaurants across the U.S. and in five other nations. With that many locations, crimes inevitably occur — with potentially serious legal consequences for the companies.

Cops and Courts

One dead, another critically wounded in shootings last night at Texas Roadhouse in Fort Wayne; and a man killed at Taco Bell drive-thru in Lorain, Ohio

The latest crime news across the world of 48,000 restaurants*; updated 2:30 p.m.

Crime scene tapeAt the Fort Wayne Texas Roadhouse, the shootings started late last night with a fight between two groups of men inside, then spilled out into the parking lot, according to the Journal Gazette newspaper and WANE-TV.

Andrew Cassady
Cassady

Police have now made an arrest in the case, according to WANE: Andrew Cassaday, 29, has been preliminary charged with aggravated battery and unlawful possession of a firearm.

It all began around 9:30 p.m. at the restaurant on West Washington Street.

After the first victim was shot outside, one group of men put him into a car to be taken to the hospital. As the vehicle drove around the restaurant, the occupants again encountered the rival group. At that point, someone inside the vehicle fired a shot at the opposing group, striking the man who was later pronounced dead, police spokesman Chris Felton told the newspaper.

Police took several people into custody, according to WANE. The victim taken to the hospital was in critical condition last night.

Lorain robbery gone awry

At the Taco Bell in Lorain, the man was killed in an apparent robbery attempt in the drive-thru after 11 p.m. at the 3671 Oberlin Ave. restaurant. Details were very sketchy this morning, including the victim’s manner and place of death, according to Fox 8 TV.

Police were searching for the assailant, after he fled the scene on foot.

Attempted theft at Texas Taco Bell

In Corpus Christi at 2:30 this morning, police say a man in his 20s got away with an undisclosed amount of cash after telling employees he had a weapon and demanded money. No injuries were reported, according to KIII-TV.

That robbery came after a man matching the same description attempted to rob a Little Caesars Pizza around 11 o’clock last night. Detectives say the man in that robbery left the location without any money.

* Yum has 43,000 KFCs, Pizza Huts and Taco Bells in nearly 140 countries; Papa John’s has 4,900 outlets in 37 countries, and Texas Roadhouse has 485 restaurants across the U.S. and in five other nations. With that many locations, crimes inevitably occur — with potentially serious legal consequences for the companies.