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A customer who threw a burrito bowl in the face of a Chipotle worker in September was sentenced to two months of work in the fast food industry.
New York CNN –
A woman who threw a bowl of hot food in a Chipotle worker’s face was sentenced to a month in prison — and two months for a fast-food job.
Videos of woman Rosemary Hayne insulting Chipotle worker Emily Russell and then throwing food at her face at close range on September 5 went viral following the incident. Hayne, a 39-year-old mother of four, pleaded guilty to felony assault and was sentenced last week in Municipal Court in Parma, Ohio. Judge Timothy Gilligan gave her the choice of a 90-day jail sentence or a 30-day prison sentence in addition to 60 days of work at a fast-food restaurant.
“Do you want to walk in their shoes for two months and learn how people should treat people, or do you want to spend your time in prison?” Gilligan asked Hayne at the hearing.
“I would love to walk in her shoes,” Hayne replied.
Hayne hasn’t found the job yet, Gilligan and her lawyer told CNN on Wednesday. Her attorney, Joseph O’Malley, said his client had no criminal record before the incident and that she was truly sorry for her actions that day.
“Let’s give her the opportunity not to let this one day dictate the rest of her life,” he told CNN.
Gilligan said Hayne must have her job approved by the court and work 20 hours a week. O’Malley said Hayne does not currently have a job.
Gilligan told CNN he thought about the potentially unusual sentence a few days before the November hearing.
“Every time you watch the video you get angrier and angrier,” he said. “I thought, ‘What else can I do but just let her sit in jail?'”
Asked whether he would hire Hayne if he were running a fast-food restaurant, the judge said he didn’t think she would have trouble finding a job.
“I don’t see her as a greater risk than anyone coming in off the street,” he said. “I saw it as someone losing their temper.”
Gilligan said it was the first time he had imposed such a sentence, but unfortunately it was not the first incident of this kind to happen to him. He said there was a case a few years ago where a customer who didn’t get a cookie on a Happy Meal at McDonald’s reached through the drive-thru window and started hitting a worker. The defendant got 90 days in jail, he said.
“I see these cases more often than I would like,” said Gilligan, who has been a judge for 30 years.
When asked for comment on the case, Chipotle responded: “The health and safety of our employees is our top priority, and we are pleased to see justice served for any individual who does not show our team members the respect they deserve.”
Hayne refused A request for an interview was made through O’Malley. Russell told the court that she was still dealing with the stress of the incident and that she quit her job at Chipotle after the attack and found another job. She said she would like to begin counseling to deal with the trauma she still experiences from the attack.
One of Russell’s friends started a fundraiser for her on social media that has so far raised $7,300, with most of that money coming in since the first news reports of Haynes’ conviction last week. Russell told WJW in Cleveland that she was pleased with Haynes’ verdict.
“She will get what she deserves,” she told the station. “She didn’t get a slap on the wrist. She’ll learn to work in fast food and hopefully she’ll do well.”
In addition to the prison sentence and time spent in the fast food industry, Hayne must pay a $250 fine and will be on probation for two years. Gilligan told CNN he wasn’t sure Hayne was as sorry as she claimed in court, pointing out that she still complained about the food during the hearing.
“She still doesn’t understand that this is not appropriate,” Gilligan told CNN on Wednesday.
“You didn’t get your burrito bowl the way you like it and this is how you react?” he told Hayne during the hearing. He suggested that she would not be happy with the food she would receive in prison.