An Ohio woman convicted of assault for throwing a burrito bowl at a Chipotle employee received a unique sentence from the judge.
On Nov. 28, Judge Timothy Gilligan of Parma Municipal Court in Ohio sentenced Rosemary Hayne, 39, after she was found guilty of one count of assault. Initially, Hayne was to pay a fine and serve 180 days in jail with 90 days suspended, but due to the nature of her crime, Judge Gilligan gave her the opportunity to reduce her time further by stepping into the figurative shoes of her victim.
“You didn’t get your burrito bowl the way you like it, and this is how you respond?” Judge Gilligan said during sentencing, as reported by local Fox affiliate WJW. “This is not ‘Real Housewives’ of Parma. This behavior is not acceptable.”
At the sentencing hearing, Gilligan told Hayne she could cut down her jail time by 60 days if she agreed to work at least 20 hours per week at a fast-food restaurant for two months. Hayne accepted.
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Hayne was initially arrested on Sept. 5 after she hurled a burrito bowl at former Chipotle employee Emily Russell. A bystander who caught the incident on camera posted the video to Reddit, where it gained quite a bit of traction.
Editor’s note: The video, which can be seen here, contains obscene language.
In the video, Hayne can be seen arguing with Russell and slamming down her order on a counter. After about a minute of arguing, Hayne then throws the entire burrito bowl into Russell’s face as onlookers gasp. Hayne is then confronted by an older woman who she pushes past to leave the store.
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Bystanders took down Hayne’s license plate number and contacted the police, who later arrested her at her home.
Neither Hayne nor her lawyer responded to TODAY.com’s requests for comment.
According to WJW, Hayne apologized to both the court and Russell, but attempted to explain the motivation behind her assault.
“If I showed you how my food looked and how my food looked a week later from that same restaurant, it’s disgusting looking,” Hayne said.
“I bet you won’t be happy with the food you are going to get in the jail,” Judge Gilligan responded to Hayne.
Russell, the victim, tells TODAY.com she left her job at Chipotle and suffers from anxiety as a result of the incident.
“I was telling the judge she left the building and went to her car. And she came back and that’s what she did to my face,” Russell recalls. “We live in a world right now where she could have done anything she wanted. She could have punched me in my face or pulled a gun out. I’m lucky that I only got a bowl thrown on my face.”
Russell adds that she stepped in after Hayne initially yelled at a 17-year-old employee. “No one acts like that to any employee, especially if I’m a manager,” she says.
Ultimately, Russell says she’s pleased with Hayne’s sentence.
“I just didn’t want her to get a slap on the wrist like anybody else and just walk away from it,” Russell explains. “She got exactly what she deserved. She’s gonna walk in my shoes. You know, she’s working 20 hours a week. She’s lucky — I was working 65-hour weeks.”
Chipotle is also happy with the outcome, according to a company spokesperson.
“The health and safety of our employees is our greatest priority, and we’re pleased to see justice served for any individual that does not treat our team members with the respect they deserve,” Laurie Schalow, Chipotle’s chief corporate affairs officer, tells TODAY.com.
As for how Russell is doing now, she says she found a new job at another fast-food establishment that makes her “truly happy.” Plus, the bystander who filmed her assault started a GoFundMe titled “Support Emily,” which has raised $1,892 of its $1,500 goal as of this writing.
“I’m a very introverted person and I like to keep to myself,” says Russell. “But I have never felt so loved and supported by my family and friends and from strangers across the United States.”
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