ST. LOUIS, MO – A 15-year-old McDonald’s employee in Missouri is recuperating following surgery after a distressing altercation with an adult male customer while she was on duty.
The incident occurred on April 8 when Aryiah Lynch was working at St. Louis County McDonald’s alongside another teenager. Lynch recounted that a group of adults, one of whom was 25-year-old Johnny Ricks, entered the establishment and reportedly began wreaking havoc, spitting on the workers and causing a fight.
Police reports indicate that Ricks was trying to order at the counter when he became irate and supposedly threw a plastic tray at an electronic menu board, breaking it. Staff members then instructed Ricks to leave. As they escorted him out, the altercation broke out.
A video of the unfortunate event that has been circulating on social media shows Ricks purportedly dragging Lynch by her hair outside the restaurant and then kicking her on the head. The video also documents Lynch being hit again by Ricks on the head as she tried to get up.
Ricks was apprehended on April 17 and has currently been charged with second-degree assault and second-degree property damage, as per the St. Louis County Justice Center records. Ricks, who is being held on a $150,000 cash bond, has been directed to stay 500 feet away from any McDonald’s restaurant and is not permitted to have any contact with Lynch.
The cash bond was accumulated through a GoFundMe campaign organized by the victim’s mother, Shawnunique Phillips. Phillips detailed in her GoFundMe post that her daughter was admitted to a local St. Louis hospital with a cracked skull and frontal lobe injury, in addition to a broken nose, concussion, and numerous head lacerations. A successful surgery was performed on April 17.
The owner of the McDonald’s branch, Jimmy Williams, stated that he is cooperating closely with the St. Louis County Police in the ongoing investigation.
Phillips praised her daughter’s ambition and independence through the GoFundMe campaign, which has already raised more than half of its $50,000 goal. According to Phillips, Aryiah is a hard-working teenager who was saving up money for her birthday by working at McDonald’s. She described Aryiah as a kind-hearted individual who is always ready to lend a helping hand.