Florida man jailed on felony battery charge after throwing Slurpee on 7-Eleven employee after dispute on cost
PINELLAS COUNTY, FLORIDA: A Florida man has been arrested and charged after he was accused of dousing a 7-Eleven employee with a Slurpee over a dispute over the drink's price, police said
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Smoking Gun, Brian Duffy, 40, confronted an employee about the pricing of the frozen treat inside a store in Pinellas Park at around 9:20 am on Sunday, July 26.
It noted that the video surveillance at the store showed the victim, identified as Courtney Goodrich, grabbing the cup off the counter and Duffy then "handing the cup full of a Slurpee drink towards the victim while in the victim's hand." This resulted in the cup being "knocked from the victim's hand" and the contents of the cup flying into her person, the affidavit said.
Shortly after the incident, the 40-year-old left the store and was gone by the time police arrived on the scene. When he returned to the store on August 7, "the victim pointed the defendant out to law enforcement." He was arrested by Pinellas County police and brought in for questioning.
He eventually admitted he did recall a previous "incident at 7-Eleven where he was being charged too much for a drink" but insisted he did not remember hitting the drink out of the victim's hands. He was subsequently charged with felony battery, with the affidavit stating that Duffy "did actually and intentionally touch or strike, or cause bodily harm to Courtney Goodrich against their will."
Duffy, who is a transient who has a prior conviction for battery, aggravated battery, or felony battery from 1999, is currently being held at the Pinellas County Jail in lieu of a $2,500 bond. He was ordered by a judge to have no contact with the 7-Eleven employee and to stay away from the store.
This is not the first time that a 7-Eleven employee has been at the receiving end of a customer's ire over their drinks. MEA WorldWide (MEAWW) previously reported a customer had been caught on surveillance throwing her iced coffee on the checkout counter on a store located off the Montauk Highway in East Patchogue, New York.
The altercation started as the woman, who did not want to pay for her drinks, is standing at the checkout counter, and two men standing behind her start talking to her. She can then be seen getting agitated at the men and starts arguing with them over the cost of the drinks.
While the employees remained calm as they talked to her, the woman continued to lose her temper. She then slowly moves the other items away from the coffee cups before opening the lid and dumping the entire drink on the counter and the two employees.
She shouts at the two employees and storms out of the store as a young boy who was with her takes the other items that were left on the counter and follows her out. She proceeded to drive away from the scene. It is unclear if she was caught.