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The man that was seen in a viral video trying to assault a McDonald’s employee was sentenced last week to 60 days in jail by a judge in Pinellas County, Fla.
Daniel Willis Taylor, 40, pleaded no contest to two counts of battery at a McDonald’s in St. Petersburg, Fla., the Tampa Bay Times reported. The judge credited Taylor, listed as “transient” in court documents, with 58 days of time served, according to the news organization.
The video that raised eyebrows showed Taylor on New Year’s Eve at the fast food restaurant expressing irritation because he could not find a straw. In the video, Taylor is seen screaming at employee Yasmine James, 20, about having to ask for a straw. Taylor apparently became so frustrated that he reached over the counter and grabbed James by her collar.
In a quick turnaround of events, James grabs Taylor by the collar and begins doing some pummeling of her own, striking him on the face.
What isn’t seen on that video is that as police escorted Taylor out of the building, he kicked another employee Tateona Bell, 23, as she stood by the door.
Along with the jail time, the judge ordered Taylor to stay away from James and Bell and to undergo a mental evaluation and treatment, the Times reported. He also will have to pay $1,000 in fines or perform almost 120 hours of community service, the news organization reported.
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The judge also ordered Taylor to stay away from the restaurant in the incident, the Associated Press reported.
As it turns out, the lack of straws may have sent Taylor into fits of anger, but the restaurant was only trying to be a good environmental steward, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
At the end of 2018, the St. Petersburg City Council voted to ban single-use plastic straws as well as Styrofoam beginning in 2020, the news organization reports.
