If you’re going to get into a public fight over coupons, don’t be surprised if your face ends up all over the news. That’s what two Wisconsin women have discovered, after surveillance footage of their couponing altercation culminated with their arrests.
Police in Glendale, Wisconsin have filed charges against 41-year-old Latonia Howell and her 23-year-old daughter Jasmeika Simon. The two are accused of assaulting a 16-year-old Burger King cashier who wouldn’t let Howell use multiple coupons in one transaction.
The incident occurred back on February 27th. Police say Howell placed an order and was told her coupons couldn’t be accepted. “She had about 12, but our policy is only one per customer,” the cashier said. “She kept bothering me, and kept asking. I kept telling her I couldn’t do it.”
That’s when Howell allegedly left, and said she would return with her daughters to help handle the situation.
Police say Howell, Simon and another daughter who was not charged showed up at the Burger King a short time later, and attempted to “handle the situation” by throwing things at the cashier and beating her up. “Don’t ever disrespect my mom,” the cashier said one of the daughters told her.
Surveillance footage showed a woman, believed to be Simon, reaching behind the counter and throwing a box full of sugar packets and a container of ketchup at the cashier. The altercation then moved into the restaurant’s dining area, out of view of the cameras, where things escalated.
One of the suspects “pushed past my manager, and began punching me several times in the face,” the cashier said. She said the women then headed out, threatening to return with a gun, but never did.
Howell and Simon have each been charged with physical abuse of a child, due to the cashier’s age. This isn’t the first time they’ve run afoul of the law, as both have prior criminal records, including retail theft.
But beating up a cashier over coupons is something else.
“Fighting over coupons is stupid,” the cashier said after the incident, as police publicized the surveillance images and asked the public for help in identifying the suspects. Howell and Simon are due in court today for a preliminary hearing. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of six years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Hope those coupons were worth it.
Hope they do get the maximum penalty.