Tag: Restaurant World Crime News

Cops and Courts

County prosecutor in Ind. accidentally fires gun in Texas Roadhouse; says ‘carrying a gun in my pocket is probably not the smartest move’

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

Crime scene tapeMadison County prosecutor Rodney Cummings says a 9-millimeter gun he was carrying in his pocket in a Texas Roadhouse accidentally fired into the floor as he was leaving late Saturday night, blowing a hole in his pants in the process.

No one was injured during the 11 p.m. incident in Anderson, Ind., which is about 43 miles northeast of Indianapolis, according to news accounts.

Another customer, Aaron Taffner, said he heard the gun go off while he was eating, and ran to the parking lot to get his own gun, according to WISH-TV. As he walked back in, Taffner said he saw Cummings leaving. “He had a big hole in the side of his shorts,” Taffner said.

Rodney Cummings
Cummings

Cummings said he started to walk out of the restaurant with the gun in the front pocket of his shorts. He usually keeps the safety on, he told WISH, but the safety might have come off.

Police arrived on the scene, questioned Cummings, and then let him leave without citing him. “It was an accident,” Cummings told the TV station. “That’s not a crime or a violation. It’s an accident.”

Cummings sounded more contrite in a story today by The Indianapolis Star.

“It was a new gun. I’ve only had it for a couple weeks,” he told the newspaper, adding that he’d carried a firearm for 36 years as a prosecutor and a police officer. “I always try to be as safe as I can,” Cummings said. “Carrying a gun in my pocket is probably not the smartest move.”

* 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

Man tries to smuggle pet turtle disguised as a KFC sandwich through a Chinese airport (seriously)

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

Crime scene tapeA former employee has been arrested for robbing a Des Moines KFC assistant manager preparing a bank deposit Saturday morning. Shaun Michael Haltiner, 22, of Des Moines was booked into the Polk County Jail about 2 p.m. on a first-degree robbery charge, according to the Des Moines Register.

The unidentified manager was sitting in his car outside the KFC at about 10:45 a.m., organizing a $900 cash bank deposit, he told police. A masked man, later identified as Haltiner, opened his car door and put a black handgun in his face, according to a police report cited by the newspaper.

Haltiner mug shot
Haltiner
The manager handed over the cash, and the robber fled, only to be arrested later that day by police.

In South China, meanwhile, a man has been caught trying to smuggle his pet turtle through security at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport by disguising it as a KFC burger.

The man, identified only by his Li surname, was headed for a China Southern Airlines flight to Beijing when X-ray scanner staff spotted “odd protrusions” from a fast food wrapper, according to a Guangzhou Daily newspaper report cited by the Telegraph.

“There’s no turtle in there, just a hamburger,” Li reportedly told security staff after initially refusing a bag search. “There’s nothing special to see inside.”

Li eventually admitted he didn’t want to be separated from his pet, so he hid the turtle in a sesame seed bun and packaged it in KFC paper. The turtle was eventually freed and Li was told it wasn’t allowed on the plane.

(Note: the photo illustration above is neither the fake sandwich nor the real turtle.)

* 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

Two charged in assault of Ore. Pizza Hut worker; a tantrum over too much Taco Bell lettuce; and a bogus $100 at a KFC

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

Crime scene tapeIn Eugene, Ore., a man and woman punched and kicked a 39-year-old Pizza Hut employee who booted them out of the restaurant Thursday night, and were later taken into custody at a Taco Bell.

Travis Krauziewicz, 24, punched the unidentified employee after the worker told Krauziewicz and Maria Samantha Rivera, 26, to to leave, according to KVAL. Rivera then allegedly kicked the worker while he was on the ground and pulled a knife, police said. A bystander stepped in and took the knife from Rivera, according to police.

Krauziewicz and Rivera
Krauziewicz and Rivera.

Medics treated the worker for his injuries, the station said.

Police arrested the two on charges of disorderly conduct and criminal trespass. Rivera was also booked on a charge of attempted assault and unlawful use of a weapon. Krauziewicz is also facing an additional charge of fourth-degree assault.

Mucho Taco Bell lechuga

In Pennsylvania’s East Lampeter Township, police have cited a 30-year-old woman after she became angry over receiving “too much lettuce” in her order at a Taco Bell, according to Penn Live.

Officers were called to the restaurant just before 7 p.m. on July 29, after receiving a complaint about a customer flipping a tray of food onto an employee, police said. Summer Rose Graynill was cited for disorderly conduct, police said.

A fake $100 at KFC

About 175 miles east of there, in Altoona, a man has been charged with theft by deception for using a bogus $100 bill to buy a drink at a KFC, the Altoona Mirror reported this morning.

The man, Jason E. Almeida,  found the bill in his brother’s bedroom in May and used it even though it had the words “For Motion Picture Use Only” clearly printed on the front and back, according to police. Almeida’s brother had bought the bill online for use in making homemade rap videos, the newspaper said.

Almeida was arraigned Wednesday by Magisterial District Judge Todd Kelly and released on an unsecured $10,000 bond.

* 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

An Ohio thief allegedly showed this note to a Papa John’s employee: ‘Sorry, I’m robbing you’

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

Crime scene tapeIn Berea, Ohio, a 45-year-old man is facing aggravated robbery charges this week after he allegedly robbed a Papa John’s by walking into the restaurant and giving an employee a note that said, “Sorry, I’m robbing you.”

The worker asked the man — Sean P. Roth — if he was joking, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Roth said he had a gun in his pocket, although he never actually showed it. The employee gave Roth between $65 and $75 from the cash drawer, and then Roth fled. Police arrested him later.

In Houston, the owner of a Papa John’s restaurant says he’s been robbed at gunpoint for a second time in less than five months; the latest incident, at about 11 p.m. Sunday, was caught on surveillance video.

It shows a man, his face covered, running into the store, then slipping on a freshly mopped floor. He then enters the office and turns his gun on an employee counting money. The man then orders the employee to help gather up the cash. A story about the incident by Click 2 Houston doesn’t say how much he may have taken.

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

Cops and Courts

With Georgia cops pursuing armed robber, Taco Bell employee shouts: ‘He’s inside, he’s right there!’

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

Crime scene tapeIn Athens, Ga., a 24-year-old man was arrested and charged with attempted armed robbery of a Taco Bell early Sunday morning. The man, Dontavious McCullough, entered through a side door before the restaurant had opened, surprising an employee who was on the phone with a friend, whom the employee told to call 911, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.

When officers arrived, the employee ran out the front door yelling, “he’s inside, he’s right there!” McCullough then ran out a side door, authorities told the newspaper. An officer chased and tackled him.

While retracing the path McCullough took while fleeing, police found a ski mask hed discarded, according to the newspaper. They also recovered a 9mm pistol the suspect had hidden in the breaker panel at Taco Bell, according to police.

In San Antonio, it was another viral video about a fight at a fast-food restaurant.

The video shows a man in a Taco Bell drive-through recording the parking lot brawl between two girls screaming and swinging at each other, as he calmly orders three chicken soft tacos, a large diet coke and a chicken quesadilla, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

The man continues with his order as firefighters walk into the frame, the paper says, seemingly unconcerned with stopping the fight.

The video, originally posted to WorldStarHipHop.com, has been viewed nearly 1 million times, and has been shared more than 14,000 times since it was uploaded Monday. It contains language that might not be appropriate at work.

The San Antonio video comes less than a week after one filmed in a KFC in Russia, where one man cold-cocked another diner unconscious in an incident one witness called “the hardest punch I’ve ever seen.”

Pizza Hut

In San Diego last night, a man armed with a semi-automatic handgun Continue reading “With Georgia cops pursuing armed robber, Taco Bell employee shouts: ‘He’s inside, he’s right there!’” →

Cops and Courts

Okla. man charged with murder in stabbing death of 17-year-old Pizza Hut co-worker

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

Crime scene tapeIn Bristow, Okla., a 21-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder after being accused of stabbing a teenage Pizza Hut co-worker before dumping him under a bridge, leaving him to die.

The man, Dakota Joe Spainhower, was charged in the July 18 death of 17-year-old Devin Bliss Lundberg, court records show, according to the Tulsa World newspaper. Authorities said Spainhower apparently had asked Lundberg for a ride home from the Pizza Hut about 10 p.m. When they got to his home, Spainhower told police, Lundberg attempted to stab him and demanded money.

Dakota Joe Spainhower
Spainhower

A probable cause affidavit cited by the World says Spainhower told investigators the two struggled and that Spainhower grabbed the knife away. Its blade broke in the struggle, and Spainhower retaliated by stabbing Lundberg in the chest and neck with the broken blade about five times.

The restaurant’s owner told KWTV there’d been no indication of problems between the two of them; the station didn’t identify the owner.

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