Suspects Arrested in Shootings of Workers

Safety at Work

Lexington, KY (WorkersCompensation.com) – A suspect has been arrested for the shooting of a Lexington waste management worker, one of several people facing charges after shooting workers on the job.

According to the Lexington Police, Jermaine Shanks, 20, was arrested and charged with first-degree wanton endangerment, first degree criminal mischief and tampering with physical evidence. He is the second suspect arrested for the attack on Stephon Vanzant on Sept. 18.

Officials said Vanzant was working for the city of Lexington in its waste management division. According to Susan Straub, spokesperson for the city, he was on duty and taking a break when he was shot in the head. Police 20-year-old Jon’Tay Mattingly and Shanks were suspected of shooting him. Both men fled through a nearby park and hid inside of a home for about 40 minutes.

Jon’Tay Mattingly, 20, was arrested the day after the attack and charged with first-degree assault, possession of a handgun by a convicted felon, three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, first-degree criminal mischief and tampering with physical evidence.

Officials said a witness said Shanks and Mattingly had hidden in the house, confessed to shooting the worker and had disposed of blue latex gloves used in the shooting. Officials said a vehicle and home were also damaged in the shooting. Court documents said the bullets passed through the walls of the home, which had an adult and two children in it at the time.

Vanzant was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries, but no updates on his medical condition have been provided since the shooting.

In Indian Trail, N.C., a Taco Bell worker was shot and killed while at work.

Union County Sheriff’s Office deputies said they were called to the fast-food restaurant around 8:45 p.m. on Oct. 13. When they arrived, they reported finding evidence of a shooting. Authorities said the suspect had already fled the scene by the time the deputies arrived.

Police arrested Gilecio Ritchie, 22 and charged him with first degree murder in the death of the worker, identified as Dantreveion Hobbs.

Witnesses at the scene said Ritchie entered the restaurant while wearing a mask, walked past several customers, shot Hobbs in the kitchen and then left the scene. Lt. James Maye with the Union County Sheriff’s Office said Hobbs died at the scene.

“There’s no question this was a targeted assault, a targeted attack on Mr. Hobbs,” Maye said. “As soon as he fired the shots, killing Mr. Hobbs, he left the restaurant, not harming anybody else.”

Maye said the investigation will now focus on uncovering a motive.

“The question is why?” Maye said. “Why did this 22-year-old young man come into a restaurant in the middle of the evening and shoot a 23-year-old man, seemingly unprovoked? That’s what we’re going to dig into.”

Taco Bell issued a statement expressing its “deepest condolences” to the Hobbs family. The owner of the Taco Bell location said the store is working with local law enforcement.

And in Florida, one fast food worker fed up with being harassed by a customer, fired back in self-defense.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said an argument between a McDonald’s employee and two late-night customers led to threats of violence and a shooting.

Judd said around 3 a.m.  on October 17 his officers were called to an incident in Davenport, Fla., where Yoan Soto, 21, was working an overnight shift. According to police reports, two customers, 19-year-old Peter Story and 18-year-old Nicholas Jones, pulled into the drive-thru. Soto told the two that he could not take their order because the restaurant was “overwhelmed” with online orders and apologized for the delay. Judd said Soto was following his manager's instruction to stop taking orders.

However, Jones and Story did not appreciate the restaurant's situation and started to threaten Soto, saying they would wait for the end of his shift to attack him. Soto told them his shift ended at 4 a.m.

Security video at the restaurants showed Story and Jones entering the McDonald’s lobby and threatening Soto with a weapon that Judd described as a “Switch” with a “30-clip.” Soto defended himself by pulling out his own handgun.

"Now, the 22-year-old manager steps between them trying to stop this kerfuffle from occurring because there’s a rattle afoot right now in McDonald’s, we can call it a ‘McRattle,’ and that’s not a sandwich," Judd said a video he posted to Facebook.

When one of the aggressors tried to grab his gun, Soto pulled the trigger, grazing Story in the next.

"It’s a blessing that it was a very minor wound, but you know what? When you start shooting McGuns, you get people’s McAttention," Judd said.

The pair fled after the shooting. Soto picked up his shell casings and also left. He was arrested and charged with tampering with evidence. Jones and Story were also arrested and charged with trespass after warning and disorderly conduct.

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