A North Royalton father is spending 60 days behind bars after a meltdown inside a local Taco Bell, where security cameras captured him hurling food and punching workers. Joshua Richmond was sentenced yesterday in Parma Municipal Court after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge in a brief hearing that ended with the judge ordering jail time to match the violence seen on video.
Security video shows assault inside restaurant
In court, prosecutors rolled the surveillance footage from inside the North Royalton Taco Bell, showing Richmond throwing food at staff and swinging at least one punch that landed on an employee. The video became the backbone of the case and heavily influenced the sentence, according to Fox 8.
Judge: "You punched them twice" as defendant addresses court
Parma Municipal Court Judge Timothy Gilligan did not mince words, calling the incident an attack on two people and blasting what he described as a sense of entitlement on Richmond's part. "You punched them twice, it's on film," the judge said in court, adding that Richmond had also threatened to come back and shoot the employees, a detail that weighed heavily in the decision to impose jail time.
Richmond told the court that "none of it was for me; it was for my son and my girlfriend," and said he has since seen a doctor, is taking medication, and has voluntarily enrolled in anger-management classes, according to Fox 8.
Where it happened and what happens next
The confrontation took place at the chain's North Royalton location, which Taco Bell's store listing shows at 6447 North Royalton Rd, according to Taco Bell. Richmond was ordered to serve the 60-day jail term and told the court he is continuing with treatment steps, including anger-management classes.
