Ashley Mason: Florida woman who made 'her man' kill Burger King staffer Desmond Joshua charged with murder
ORLANDO, FLORIDA: A 31-year-old Florida woman, Ashley Mason, is currently behind bars for her alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of a Burger King employee. The woman had got upset that her fast food had been taking too much time and had called "her man" to the restaurant. The man then physically assaulted the employee and shot him.
The incident had taken place at the fast food joint located off of E Colonial Drive in Orange County, Crime Online reports. The shooting left newly-hired help, 22-year-old Desmond Armond Joshua, dead. According to the Orange County Sheriff's Office, Kelvis Rodríguez Tormes, 37, was arrested and charged with the shooting. He is also facing first-degree murder with a firearm, destruction of evidence, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The woman had only been publicly identified this week as Ashley Mason. She was arrested on Wednesday, August 5, and charged for her involvement in the death of Joshua. She is facing charges of principal to first-degree murder and aggravated assault with a firearm. Investigators revealed that Mason had ordered food for around $40 but when the line took too long, she got enraged. Even though she had a child in the back seat of her car, she exited the vehicle and made many threatening comments.
A Burger King employee then refused to refund her money and asked her to leave the premises. As per Click Orlando, the drive-thru had been backed up and customers had to wait a little longer than usual to pick up their order. Eventually, Mason left but had threatened to have "her man" come back and handle things for her, according to an arrest affidavit. When Rodriguez Tormes arrived at the restaurant, he allegedly "demanded to fight" Joshua.
When Joshua started to walk to the parking lot, the suspect "placed [Joshua] into a headlock and began to choke him" the arrest affidavit revealed. Witnesses say they saw Mason pointing a gun at the victim, reports CBS 10. A restaurant manager had pulled Rodriguez Tormes off Joshua, which is when he went to his truck and pointed a gun at the victim. He told Joshua, "You got two seconds before I shoot you."
Witnesses added how they saw Joshua raise his hands up and back off from him. Joshua had reportedly said, "All I wanted to do was talk... If you really want to fight, step out of the car." After this, the suspect shot him in the chest, got into his white pickup truck and drove off. The woman fled in her black sedan as well from the Burger King joint. Both of them were apprehended not long after and were questioned by deputies.
We had earlier reported that a few minutes later, deputies arrived at the scene and found Joshua suffering from a gunshot wound in the parking lot. He was rushed to an area hospital but could not be saved despite the best efforts of medical professionals and was declared dead the same evening. He had reportedly started working at the Burger King only a few days earlier.