Florida man Daniel Taylor, 40, wreaked havoc inside a St. Petersburg McDonald’s this week when he violently attacked a female employee at the counter before assaulting a second employee on his way out the door.
The New Year’s Eve melee sent Tateona Bell to the hospital with abdominal injuries, as she had been kicked in the stomach. The mother of two had just had a cesarean section two months prior.
McDonald’s employee Tateona Bell (left) says suspect Daniel Taylor kicked her in the stomach as he was being ejected from a St. Petersburg, Fla., McDonald’s after first assaulting her co-worker Yasmine Bell (right) at the counter in the New Year’s Eve melee. (Images courtesy of Facebook)
“My male co-worker picked [Taylor] up and put him outside,” Bell, 23, told Atlanta Black Star. “I was at the door and he was kicking … and he kicked me in my stomach.”
The assault unfolded just moments after Taylor was caught on video yanking 20-year-old Yasmine James by her collar, nearly pulling the young woman over the counter, during a dispute over a drinking straw. James, who suffered injuries to her thigh and back, defended herself and duked it out with the unruly patron for a few seconds before co-workers stepped in to pull her from his grip.
Taylor wasn’t done, however. Recalling the incident, Bell said the transient, who frequents the fast food restaurant, returned to the store and tried picking a fight with her manager. That’s when he was removed by a male employee and locked outside. That’s when James dialed police.
Bell said she feels the kicking incident was intentional.
“I think he was drunk,” she said. “And I think he did it intentionally because I know he had beef with Yasmine … but I have never seen him act like that. I think he was intoxicated or something.” Taylor’s arrest affidavit, obtained by ABS, indicated he was under the influence of alcohol. It is unclear if a blood alcohol test was administered on the scene of his arrest.
Taylor has since been charged with two counts of simple battery and remains jailed on $1,000 bond, Pinellas County jail records show.
Bell, who’s been working at the restaurant for roughly a year, said she went to the hospital because she was afraid Taylor’s blow may have caused the incision from her C-section to rupture. The young mom said it was a general manager who “did all she could” to ensure Bell and James received the medical attention they needed.
Meanwhile, another unnamed worker simply stood by as the attack on James unfolded. Video from the Dec. 31 incident shows an Asian male, who appeared to be a manager, approach the counter to review Taylor’s order before walking off again, seemingly unruffled by the assault on his employee.
Moving forward, Bell she said she wants to see the manager fired for his failure to step in and protect fellow workers.
“He didn’t help Yasmine, he didn’t help anyone,” she told ABS. “He was just like ‘everybody get back to work.’ That’s it.”
Bell said the store also needs proper security and that employees deserve a pay raise because “We don’t get paid enough to beat on people … and for people to beat on us. That’s just how I feel.”
Bell is still employed at the restaurant.
