There have been many cases over the years involving irate couponers who’ve found themselves on the wrong side of the law for taking out their frustrations on an employee who’s just doing their job.
There are far fewer cases in which the employee dealing with the irate couponer is the one who ends up behind bars.
But that’s what happened in Indianapolis over the holidays, after a dispute over a coupon became more than a little heated. 27-year-old Jacob Asberry made his first court appearance yesterday on charges of pointing a loaded firearm at an individual two days before Christmas.
That individual was reportedly a customer at the barbecue restaurant where Asberry was working. According to court records obtained by Indianapolis’ WXIN-TV, a man and his wife were paying for their meal when Asberry told them he could not accept their coupon. The man reportedly became “irate and aggressive,” demanding that the coupon be applied to their order.
When Asberry refused, police say the man threatened him – at which point Asberry allegedly pulled out a gun, pointing it at the man and telling him to leave.
The man left. And then called 911.
According to the report, Asberry admitted pointing his loaded handgun at the man, whom he accused of “being extremely aggressive and refusing to leave.”
Asberry may have successfully enforced his restaurant’s rules when it comes to coupons, but he ran afoul of the state’s rules when it comes to firearms. The situation was not one in which it was reasonable to point “a loaded firearm at another person within a busy and heavily occupied business,” police stated.
A perusal through the Coupons in the News archives shows that this isn’t the first time a coupon dispute has escalated to the point of potential gunplay – though typically it’s the customer who wields a weapon and not an employee. There was the case of the South Carolina resident whose coupon was refused at a Burger King drive-thru, so he drove off, only to return with his coupon – and a gun. There was the Florida woman whose coupon was refused at Walmart, and as employees escorted her out, she said “I have something in my car for you” – which turned out to be a handgun that she pointed at them. And at a Subway in New Mexico, a customer who was holding up a long line arguing about a coupon was charged with pulling a gun on another customer who had encouraged him to speed it up.
As for Asberry, he was formally charged a week later and booked into jail last Tuesday. He was released on $5,000 bond and prohibited from coming into contact with firearms or ammunition as his case makes its way through the courts. If convicted, he faces a potential sentence of up to two and a half years behind bars, and a fine of up to $10,000.
So the combative customer whose coupon was refused may have had to pay full price. But the employee who refused his coupon may end up with a far bigger price to pay.
Image source: Bottleworks District/YouTube
