An employee of a South Bend, Indiana, McDonald’s restaurant faces a charge of felony robbery for allegedly pilfering from a nearby Burger King outlet.
The suspect in question reportedly showed up to work drunk and was sent home. Instead, while still wearing his McDonald’s uniform, he allegedly walked over to the Burger King down the street to apparently have it his way.
ABC 57 News in South Bend described what happened next at about 6 a.m. at the Burger King.
“After ordering a breakfast sandwich, he allegedly reached across the counter and grabbed the cashier by her scarf. The cashier told police the suspect then demanded all of the money in the register, threatening to ‘start keying everyone up.’ He grabbed two handfuls of money from the register and ran off.”
Cops checked back with the McDonald’s store, where an assistant manager identified the suspect as an employee based on a surveillance footage taken during the heist.
The incident occurred back on September 10. Cops executed a warrant and took the man, identified as Timothy Williams according to News Talk 95.3 MNC , into custody on Saturday. Williams reportedly has a long rap sheet which could trigger additional penalties upon a conviction.
Williams is due back in court on September 29 and is being held on a $10,000 cash bond at St. Joseph County Jail.
In other McDonald’s crime-related news, a drive-thru robbery allegedly implicating two teenagers was reportedly a pre-planned theft. Authorities contend that a 17-year-old drive-thru window worker in Florida allegedly was an accomplice to a holdup carried out by a 14-year-old with a handgun.
“Detectives say that [the employee] was partners in crime with the 14-year-old in what is now believed to be a planned robbery of the restaurant. [He] was working at McDonald’s at the time of the robbery. He emptied the till into the alleged robber’s book bag through the drive-thru window,” the News-Press explained about the Fort Myers incident. Cops arrested the 14-year-old on a charge of armed robbery and the older teen on
Cops arrested the 14-year-old on a charge of armed robbery and the older teen on charges of robbery, conspiracy, and perjury, NBC2 WBBH in Fort Myers reported .
Separately, a Burger King robbery in Atascadero, California, was also allegedly an inside job. After a worker called 911 to report a robbery at about the 1:00 a.m. closing time last Wednesday when he was there by himself, responding cops searched the area and came up empty. They subsequently executed a search warrant on the 21-year-old employee’s home where they found “a large amount of cash and two Burger King bank deposit bags,” NBC affiliate KSBY reported . Cops say the worker confessed and he is now charged with embezzlement and making a false police report.
Last month, a gunman held up an Omaha, Nebraska, McDonald’s and forced all the employees except the manager into the freezer, ABC-affiliated KETV reported . The manager handed over the cash from the till and no one was hurt.
Apart from the obvious that there is a lot cash changing hands, J.R. Roberts Security Strategies analyzes why fast-food restaurants are often targeted for robbery, which include the following elements, among others.
- Most fast food chains are located along major corridors and freeways, making access quick, easy and low risk to the perpetrator who can make a quick score.
- Like bank ATMs, many fast food facilities are often inadequately designed from a safety and security standpoint.
- There is an almost universal failure on the part of owners and operators of fast food restaurants to properly screen employees.
- Opening and closing procedures should be carefully considered, reviewed, and enforced by management.
- Stores open late should be open for drive-thru only, and managers and employees closing late should have security presence/escort until they are safely off of the property.
[Featured Image by Gene J. Puskar/AP Images]
