A Philadelphia man allegedly threw blistering hot coffee at a donut shop employee after a dispute over a $2.40 bill.
Philadelphia police have allegedly identified David Timbers as the man who was caught on tape Tuesday morning throwing a large styrofoam cup filled with coffee at 27-year-old Sok Caea, the employee behind the counter.
The alleged assault happened Tuesday morning after a man identified later as Timbers claimed he had already paid for the sandwich he ordered. When the woman asked him to pay up, he became outraged, according to WPVI-TV.
"I paid for my sandwich, lady," the man is heard saying on the surveillance recording released by Philadelphia police. "Listen, I paid for my sandwich. I don't need $2.25 or whatever you charged me... $2.40."
Afer a profanity-laced rant, the man on the tape pried the coffee out of a worker's hands and threw it on her.
Caea, who recently moved from Cambodia, suffered severe burns as a result of the assault, but was back at work on Thursday, according to her translator.
"She's doing okay, she's doing fine right now just hurt a little bit," the translator told WABC-TV.
Caea had been working in the donut shop part-time to see if she would want to start her own business, but the experience has her thinking twice, according to co-worker Van Eap.
"I think it's just senseless over a sandwich and then you hurt people like that, it's just not right," Van Eap told WABC-TV.
Police sources who analyzed the surveillance video said the suspect never paid and left in his gold or tan Cadillac with a second male, seen on the left wearing a green hat in the video.
An eyewitness source who wished to remain anonymous told WAWA-TV that the donut shop owner tried to block the assailant's car.
"The owner had one injured arm so that guy said, ‘You got one arm, what the hell are you going to do to me?’ It was crazy. It was senseless. He didn't have to throw that coffee on her,” the eyewitness said.
Meanwhile, Lt. Ray Evers with the Philadelphia Police Department is disturbed that a dispute over a small amount of money could lead to such a tragic situation.
"This is a disagreement over $2.40 and you're going to injure someone for the rest of their lives. If you can’t resolve conflicts in a proper way you really should not be on the streets," Evers told WAWA-TV.
Police are still looking for Timbers and anyone with information is asked to call 215-686-TIPS (8477) or text a tip to PPD TIP or 773847.
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The Huffington Post | By David Moye Posted: 05/11/2012 5:59 pm Updated: 05/12/2012 11:05 am