A cook at Gus's World Famous Chicken was arrested last Saturday after police said he cut the power to the Maplewood restaurant and threatened to set the kitchen on fire, pouring peanut oil across the floors as employees scrambled to get out. Antonio M. Burns was taken into custody at the scene, and investigators later said they found peanut oil already on the kitchen floor when they arrived.
According to FOX 2, the incident happened Saturday, Oct. 17, in the 7400 block of Manchester Road, where Gus's World Famous Chicken has operated for years. Police said Burns cut all power at the building and told people he was going to start a fire in the kitchen and pour peanut oil on the floors. Several employees had already evacuated the restaurant by the time officers arrived and found the oil on the kitchen floor.
Loaded Gun Found in Backpack at the Jail
The station's report notes that once Burns was in custody, a search turned up a pistol in his backpack during a search at the jail. Police said Burns was prohibited from possessing the firearm because of prior convictions for resisting arrest, attempted burglary and domestic assault.
Those findings led the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office to charge Burns with second-degree making a terrorist threat, second-degree attempted arson and unlawful possession of a firearm, per the same account from FOX 2. Under Missouri law, second-degree arson applies when someone knowingly damages a building or inhabitable structure by starting a fire or causing an explosion, according to the Missouri Revisor of Statutes. The terrorist-threat charge Burns faces is classified as a class E felony under state law, per the Missouri Revisor of Statutes.
Peanut Oil Is Central to the Restaurant's Recipe
The threat to pour peanut oil across the kitchen floor carries a bitter irony given the restaurant's history: Gus's fried chicken recipe is cooked in peanut oil, according to an earlier report from Feast Magazine describing the restaurant's opening at 7434 Manchester Road.
Burns Held on $500,000 Bond, Court Dates Set
Burns remains jailed on a $500,000 cash-only bond. He has a bond reduction hearing scheduled for next Monday, Oct. 26, followed by a preliminary hearing set for Nov. 16, the report states.
