A 44-year-old Halethorpe man is being held without bond after Montgomery County police say he terrorized a Taco Bell employee over two days in August, capping off the ordeal with a phone call in which he threatened to shoot the worker. Ryan Barile now faces hate crime-related charges, stalking and telephone misuse following an arrest on Oct. 14.
Trouble Started Over an Order on Georgia Avenue
According to Bethesda Magazine, the incidents began on Aug. 20 when Barile placed an order at the Taco Bell in the 13800 block of Georgia Avenue, a location listed by Taco Bell as 13830 Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring. After receiving his order, Barile allegedly became upset and began yelling at an employee, making derogatory statements toward them, per the same account. He also allegedly threatened to assault the employee and a customer who attempted to intervene.
The confrontation didn't end there. The following day, Barile allegedly returned to the restaurant and placed another order, the report notes. After he left, he called the business again, and that's when the situation escalated further.
Threat to Shoot Employee Prompted Police Involvement
During that follow-up call on Aug. 21, Barile allegedly made more racial statements about the employee and threatened to shoot them, according to the sheriff's office, as reported by DC News Now. The Montgomery County Department of Police was notified of the threats, and investigators identified Barile as a suspect during the probe that followed, according to Daily Voice.
Nearly two months passed before Barile was taken into custody on Oct. 14, Montgomery County police said. He was charged with hate crime-related offenses, stalking and telephone misuse, and he is currently being held without bond at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit, Daily Voice reported. Bethesda Magazine reports that his trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 24.
Case Lands Amid Mixed Statewide Hate-Bias Data
The Montgomery County case surfaces as Maryland authorities review their own statewide numbers on bias-motivated incidents. A report from the Maryland State Police, working with the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center, found that hate bias incidents declined slightly across the state in 2025, according to the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center. A separate hate-bias report covering 2024 found that 921 incidents that year generated 1,010 separate criminal and non-criminal codes, per the agency's published findings. It remains unclear how the Barile case will factor into future tallies given its still-pending trial.
Montgomery County police have reminded residents that their department social media accounts are not monitored around the clock, with the agency posting on X that people should not report incidents through that platform.
