Another Customer Service Horror Story?

Woman Says Waitress Shot Her in Dispute Over Food
Date last updated: 5/13/2009 9:36:56 AM

Clarendon County (WLTX) - A Clarendon County waitress is accused of shooting a customer at the restaurant after the two had a dispute.

Yakeisha Ward, 29, is charged with assault and battery with intent to kill.

An early morning run for breakfast at the Waffle House on Paxville Highway in Manning turned terribly wrong for Crystal Samuel.

"I thought I was gonna get me an All-Star," says Samuel. A popular meal on the menu. "Grits, sausage, toast, eggs and a waffle," says Samuel.

She didn't get what she came for. Instead, she says while she waited for her order, her friends started eating. That's when Samuel says she was told they couldn't eat from carryout trays inside the restaurant.

"I said what is your fuss about. I said we haven't paid for our food. She (Ward) said well you all got to leave. How you want us to leave and we ain't paid for the food yet," says Samuel.

That's when it got ugly. Samuel says she threw a waffle at the waitress. "I did actually throw some food but it didn't hit her," says Samuel. "That's when she (Ward) jumped across the counter and we got into it," says Samuel.

Clarendon County Sheriff Randy Garrett says the altercation continued outside where he says Ward got a gun from her car and a gun magazine from her trunk.

"It's poor judgment on her part trying to settle this matter with a weapon. either way she had time to think about what she was doing when she was walking to her car," says Garrett.

Investigators say Ward's gun discharged during the altercation. They say a bullet fragment struck Samuel in the arm.

"Deputies were close by when they rolled up in the parking lot the victim and the suspect were still engaged in a fight," says Garrett.

Before it ended, authorities say Ward struck the victim in the head with the gun.

"She got the last lick,"says Samuel. Meanwhile Ward has bonded out of jail. On Tuesday afternoon, News 19 found her inside the Waffle House where the incident happened. She declined to talk to us on camera but says she got out of jail after paying $500. As for Samuel, she has only one thing to say about Waffle House. "bad customer service," says Samuel.

Investigators say it appears that Ward's gun was legally purchased.

At least Yakeisha's gun was legally purchased - that's a plus. And I bet Crystal won't be back at Waffle House for an All Star breakfast anytime soon.