A man stopped at a south Memphis gas station for gas and a drink when he was attacked by the store employee and forced to pay double the slushy amount by officers.
Tradarius Owens stepped inside of the Tennessee Shells gas station located on Belz Boulevard to pay for his items, but quickly realized the cashier shortchanged him.
“It was my normal routine. I came to get some gas and a fountain drink,” Owens told News 3.
The customer said he went back into the store to inform the Shells’ clerk and that’s when things immediately took a turn for the worst.
“I walked out to the pump and noticed that he shorted me on my gas. So I walked back in the store, and that’s when he called me all types of names. He said, ‘Get your black a** out of here. You stole the slush,” Owens explained and added that he covers his pop with a slush every day to keep it cold.
“By the time I make it to my pump he’s behind me, and everybody is saying, ‘Look out.’ I turned out around and he looked like he was going to swing at me. I said, ‘Man, what’s the problem?’ He knocked my drink out of my hand and pushed me,” the customer added.
A witness, Victoria Thompson, told the news station that she saw “the gas station guy jump towards” Owens “like he was trying to hit him.” Thompson said the store clerk then “reached out and smacked his [Owens] drink out of his hand.”
Owens said he walked back into the store to report the incident to the manager, but the employee swiftly came from behind the counter and “put a gun” to his head. The manager allegedly told Owens, “Get your black a** out of my store. I will f****** kill you myself.” Owens admitted to being scared for his life.
Police were soon called following the incident and forced Owens to pay twice the amount for the drink without watching the surveillance footage.
“They just completely ignored my situation. They said if I don’t want to go to jail right now I need to give the clerk $1.92,” Owens conveyed.
No charges have yet to be filed against any of the parties.
