Advertisement

Florida man arrested, charged with murder after fatally shooting Burger King worker over drive-thru delay, police say

Flashing Police Light
Flashing Police Light

A Florida man was arrested and charged with first-degree murder on Sunday for fatally shooting a Burger King employee over a delay with a drive-thru food order, officials said.

Kelvis Rodriguez, 37, was charged with first-degree murder with a firearm, destruction of evidence and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

Rodriguez shot 22-year-old Desmond Joshua, Jr. in his chest at a Burger King parking lot in Orlando on Saturday, according to a police report. Joshua was taken to AdventHealth East Orlando, where he was pronounced dead.

Chris Finazzo, Burger King's president for North America, told USA TODAY in a statement that the company was "deeply saddened" over Joshua's death.

"Our deepest condolences go out to Desmond’s family and friends during this difficult time,” Finazzo said.

Joshua was working the restaurant's drive-thru when orders were backed up, causing customers to wait a long time, according to the police report. Customer Ashley Mason became enraged and started to yell at Joshua. Mason then threatened to bring her "man" to the restaurant, the report said.

Joshua refunded $40 to the woman and asked her to leave, according to the report. Seven minutes later, Rodriguez showed up to the restaurant and demanded to fight Joshua, the report said.

That led to a physical altercation where Rodriguez placed Joshua in a headlock, according to the report. After the two were separated, Rodriguez returned to his car for a handgun and reportedly told Joshua: "You got two seconds before I shoot you."

Authorities said Joshua had only started working at the Burger King location on Thursday.

Contributing: Jordan Culver, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Florida man killed Burger King worker over drive-thru dispute: police