Florida Man Claiming Food Poisoning Allegedly Stabs IHOP Waiter
A Miami, Florida-area man who reportedly consumed a meal at an International House of Pancakes (IHOP) restaurant allegedly came back later and stabbed the waiter.
[see update below]
According to NBC6 Miami, the incident occurred at a North Miami IHOP on Friday when the suspect “later returned complaining that his food had been poisoned, according to North Miami Police. Authorities say he began arguing with the waiter that had served him. He then chased the waiter inside the restaurant and stabbed him.”
Miami’s Channel 7, WVSN, identifies the suspect as Gene Henry, 35, who faces a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon causing bodily harm. He is or was being held on a $10,000 bond. Other news outlets have identified the suspect as Gene Hicks.
The IHOP employee who was stabbed was transported to a local hospital by first responders with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and is said to have suffered a non-life-threatening wound in the alleged attack.
A North Miami man has been accused of stabbing an IHOP employee, claiming he had been poisoned.https://t.co/Fr50ycbf4w
— WSVN 7 News (@wsvn) November 12, 2016
“Whether IHOP patron Gene Hicks consumed the Belgian waffle, the chicken cordon bleu or the Rooty Tooty Fresh ‘n’ Fruity, he returned to the establishment Friday afternoon a dissatisfied customer, according to North Miami Police….Hicks is restricted to the less rich cuisine of Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a charge of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. Any switch to Denny’s might have to wait. He already was out on felony bond on a charge of battery on an elderly victim, a 77-year-old man,” the Miami Herald reported about the incident.
Elsewhere in Florida, a middle-aged North Palm Beach man got hauled off to jail after allegedly calling 911 to complain that his mother refused to give him money to buy a meal at IHOP. The flapjack fan allegedly had called 911 multiple times in the past month or so for non-emergency reasons, including twice in two hours on the same night that he was arrested.
North Miami Police responding to reports of a stabbing at an IHOP on Friday afternoon: https://t.co/xkS5Ruv8e1 pic.twitter.com/XdznLntP3K
— NBC 6 South Florida (@nbc6) November 11, 2016
IHOP’s former slogan was “come hungry, leave happy.” It recently switched over to “eat up every moment.”
In June, two sisters were allegedly involved in a chaotic brawl with employees inside a Memphis IHOP. The WWE-style encounter, complete with multiple blows and chair shots, was captured on cell phone video. Cops charged the suspects, one of whom apparently is a waitress at that IHOP outlet, with assault and vandalism.
In other IHOP news, a Cheyenne, Wyoming, employee pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of felony theft in connection with about $12,000 that allegedly went missing from the restaurant till over a sixth-month period “[Monique] Wiley, 47, said she pocketed customers’ cash payments while working as an assistant manager at the restaurant between April 2015 and October 2015. According to charging documents filed against her late last December, she would void transactions in which the customer paid with cash and balance the cash register by taking the difference,” the Wyoming Tribune Eagle explained.
IHOP is said to have about 1,600 restaurants in the U.S., Canada, and overseas.
Another popular breakfast franchise eatery, Waffle House, has also experienced its share of misbehavior. For example, back in January, a Georgia woman was accused of stripping naked and allegedly breaking the nose of another female customer with a punch to the face and throwing plates or platters at customers, as well as one at a responding cop, damaging a Waffle House window in the process. In March, a man dressed as a clown, who was allegedly smoking methamphetamine in a Georgia Waffle House restaurant, was arrested on multiple drug charges. In an encounter at a Waffle House eatery elsewhere in the state of Georgia, a waitress was accused of spiking her co-worker’s drink with meth.
Are you a fan of IHOP?
[Featured Image by Ken Wolter/Shutterstock]
UPDATE: Police have now released surveillance video (see below) of the alleged knife attack. “The footage shows Hicks apparently stabbing [the victim] once. Both men then move out of the frame as startled customers are seen staring in horror and fleeing from their tables…Police said Hicks then stabbed the victim several more times,” WSVN reported. “He was yelling, ‘You poisoned my food,'” according to a North Miami police official.
