A dispute over an item one Burger King worker believed had been stolen boiled over into violence on the restaurant's east side in Coldwater, Michigan, last Sunday night, leaving a 46-year-old co-worker with head injuries and a bite wound to the face. Police say 22-year-old Austin James Lawhead jumped over the front counter during the argument, struck the victim's head with a cellphone, and bit his face before officers arrived.
According to court records reported by WTVB, the confrontation began after Lawhead accused his co-worker of taking a personal item that belonged to him. The argument escalated at the restaurant's front counter, and per reporting from MLive, police responded to the Coldwater location around 9 p.m. after a customer captured the altercation on cellphone video. A criminal complaint filed in Branch County 3-A District Court alleges the attack went further than the initial strike and bite, with Lawhead also placing the victim in a chokehold, the same WTVB report states.
Victim Treated at Local Hospital
The 46-year-old Coldwater resident was taken to Insight Hospital and Medical Center Coldwater for treatment of multiple head injuries sustained during the fight, per MLive's account. A media release from Coldwater Public Safety confirmed the incident happened at the Burger King restaurant on Coldwater's east side, according to the same WTVB coverage. Coldwater sits off I-69 in south central Michigan, roughly an hour southeast of Kalamazoo.
The Branch County Prosecutor's Office charged Lawhead with assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, and he was arraigned the following day. At arraignment, prosecutors pushed for a steep bond, but Branch County District Court Judge Brent Weigle set bond at $10,000 instead of the $100,000 prosecutors had requested, entering a not guilty plea on Lawhead's behalf, per the same WTVB account.
Strict Conditions Attached to Release
As part of his bond conditions, Weigle ordered Lawhead to have no contact with the victim and barred him from entering any Burger King property, the outlet reported. The case is scheduled to move forward with a pretrial conference set for October 8 at 1:30 p.m., followed by a preliminary examination on October 15 at 10 a.m., according to the same source.
Under Michigan Compiled Laws Section 750.84, a conviction on the charge Lawhead faces carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000, according to Shelton Legal Services. To secure a conviction under that statute, prosecutors must prove the defendant intended to inflict serious physical injury capable of significantly harming health or bodily function, regardless of whether permanent damage actually occurred, as explained by Prain Law, PLLC.
A Familiar Risk in Food Service Jobs
Workplace violence of this kind is not unique to one Michigan fast-food counter. Data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows service occupations, including food preparation and serving roles, accounted for roughly half of all nonfatal intentional workplace injuries by another person requiring days away from work in 2020. Separate Bureau of Labor Statistics safety data, reported by Occupational Health & Safety, found that fatal work injuries in food preparation and serving occupations rose 64 percent in 2016 amid a broader nationwide surge in workplace violence incidents.
The case against Lawhead remains in its early stages, with the alleged acts described in the court complaint yet to be tested at trial. Lawhead's next scheduled appearances, the pretrial conference and preliminary examination in Branch County, will determine how the case proceeds from here.
