Fox 8 Defenders: Kenner McDonald’s employee accused of threatening customer with a gun

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Nicole Walker got much more than she bargained for during a fast-food stop last month.

“We could have been dead and nobody would have been able to tell our story,” Walker said.

Walker called the Fox 8 Defenders after she says a trip through the drive-thru lane at the McDonald’s restaurant on Airline Highway in Kenner still has her on edge.

“I’m shaking because I’m thinking that me, my grandbaby and nephew are in this car, and we just came to get a Happy Meal and we’re about to lose our life because nobody wants to make a frappe,” Walker said.

Walker said she went through the drive-thru with her nephew and grandson in the car on March 16. She says they ordered and paid for a Happy Meal and a frappe.

“When we got up there, it was like there was a confrontation between the employees, because they didn’t want to make a frappe,” Walker said. “They gave us the Happy Meal, but they are still thinking about who would make the frappe.”

Walker says she waited patiently, but after several minutes became upset and asked for her money back for the unmade beverage.

“They were still arguing and fussing,” Walker said. “So, by the time the young man came, he said (he’d) give us your food because we are not giving you a refund.”

Walker again demanded a refund for the frappe. She said an employee later identified as 21-year-old Troy Washington came back to the drive-thru window and threw the money into her car.

“So, when he threw the money into the car, I probably got upset,” Walker said. “I said, ‘Look, this is not right what you’re doing.’ So, he raised up his shirt and showed me that he had a gun on him. He was moving it around and bringing it up.”

Walker says she told her nephew to pull off, and they parked in front of McDonald’s and called Kenner Police.

“To her credit, she de-escalated the situation by simply moving on and calling 911. It’s what we ask people to do in that sort of situation,” says Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley.

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Conley says his officers arrived within three minutes and quickly got a description of the employee.

“You never know what’s going through somebody’s mind in this world today,” Conley said.

“They went in there,” Walker said. “And as soon as they went in there, they got him.”

According to the police report, the arresting officer asked Washington where the gun was.

“Near the apple pies,” Washington replied, according to police.

“He advised the officers where he put the gun, so they were able to recover the gun and make the arrest,” Conley said.

The officers said they also found a small amount of marijuana on Washington and booked him with simple assault and drug possession.

Conley said it’s an usual case, but he commended Walker for reporting it to police.

“It’s good to have the state of mind to realize, ‘Hey, this could go wrong quickly,’” Conley said.

“What if I wouldn’t have called the police and I would have left?” Walker asked. “The next person’s life would have been in danger.”

Fox 8 asked McDonald’s for a comment on the incident but received no response.

If you have a consumer complaint you’d like us to look into, call the Fox 8 Defenders, staffed with volunteers from the National Council of Jewish Women at 1-877-670-6397. Or click here to fill out our online complaint form, which is the easiest way to reach us.

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