News

McDonald's workers act fast to save woman from potential violence

December 30, 2019

A group of California McDonald's employees was responsible for saving a women from potential harm after she mouth the words "help me" Dec. 24 to a drive-thru employee at a Lodi, California, location. Employees at the restaurant had already been alerted there was potential trouble with the women after she had first went into the restaurant, gave a worker the plate number of the car she was in and requested a call to police, according to a "Time" magazine report.

After the alleged victim used the restroom and tried to order, a man with her told her to order through the drive-thru instead. That's where she again asked for help, and employees called local authorities, who responded quickly enough to find the car still in the drive-thru where they learned the man with her, Eduardo Valenzuela, had previously been violent with her, "threatened her life, saying he would use a firearm."

Police found a stolen weapon in the car's trunk and arrested the man on charges of criminal threats, stolen property and possessing a firearm as a felon.

In November, another woman called an Ohio emergency dispatcher under the guise of ordering a pizza to enlist emergency response to another alleged abuse situation. The guise allowed the woman to give an alert dispatcher her address resulting in police response and an arrest for domestic violence.