A 47-year-old Cotton Patch Cafe employee in Palestine is facing a felony charge after police say he cut a 16-year-old co-worker's arm with a bladed instrument believed to be a box cutter, then stayed at work while the injured teen finished waiting tables. Jose Vargas Buenrrostro was arrested at his home in Elkhart on Thursday on a warrant charging him with aggravated assault, according to the Palestine Police Department.
The incident happened at the Cotton Patch Café on Crockett Road in Palestine on Wednesday, according to police cited by the Greenville Chronicle. Investigators said what began as horseplay between the two employees escalated into an attack, with Vargas Buenrrostro cutting the teenager's arm with the bladed instrument. Police were not notified until the following day, and detectives began investigating on Thursday, ultimately filing a police report that same Thursday.
Teen Told to Bandage Himself and Keep Working
According to the Greenville Chronicle's reporting, restaurant management directed the injured teenager to treat his own wound using a medical kit rather than seek outside care right away. The teen was then told to finish his shift waiting tables while Vargas Buenrrostro also remained on the job. Only after his shift ended did the teenager receive medical treatment, taken by a parent, and his wound required two sutures.
Palestine police said additional charges are possible as detectives continue investigating the incident. Under Texas Penal Code Section 22.02, aggravated assault involving a deadly weapon is a second-degree felony carrying a punishment range of 2 to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, according to FindLaw. A box cutter or utility knife can qualify as a deadly weapon under Texas law if the manner of its use is capable of causing death or serious bodily injury, regardless of how severe the actual wound turned out to be, per Barton Law Office.
A Restaurant With a Recent History of Police Calls
This is not the first time Palestine officers have responded to violence at the same Crockett Road address. City call logs show police responded to a reported assault at the same location on May 12, filing an assault causing bodily injury offense report following a patron dispute, according to records maintained by the City of Palestine.
The handling of the teen's injury also raises questions under federal workplace safety rules. Injuries requiring treatment beyond basic first aid, such as sutures, are classified as recordable workplace injuries under Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards, while employee-on-employee attacks fall under Type 3 workplace violence guidance, per OSHA. Separately, Texas child labor rules enforced by the Texas Workforce Commission allow 16-year-olds to work unlimited daily hours in non-hazardous jobs, but employers remain obligated to maintain a safe workplace under federal youth safety guidelines.
Chain Recently Changed Hands
The Palestine location sits within a chain that just changed ownership. Cotton Patch Cafe LLC was acquired on June 29, 2026, by Dallas-based Local Favorite Restaurants from private equity firm Altamont Capital Partners, returning the 46-location casual dining chain to Texas-based ownership, as Hoodline reported in its earlier coverage of the sale. Following the deal, Local Favorite Restaurants expanded to 99 restaurant units across 10 Texas-founded dining brands under chief executive officer Brandon Coleman III.
Workplace violence remains a persistent hazard in food service nationally. Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited by OSHA identifies workplace violence as the third-leading cause of fatal occupational injuries in the United States, with non-fatal employee assaults in dining and service settings accounting for thousands of recorded incidents each year. Comparable Texas cases have also drawn felony charges, including an August 2026 DeSoto incident in which police filed felony assault charges after a scuffle involving a bladed tool turned violent, according to WFAA.
Palestine police have not said whether restaurant management faces any scrutiny over the decision to keep both employees working after the cutting, and it remains unclear whether labor authorities have been notified. Detectives say the investigation is ongoing and that further charges against Vargas Buenrrostro are possible as more details emerge.
