Nemesis
03-22-2004, 05:53 PM
Story last updated at 7:13 a.m. Monday, March 22, 2004
Associated Press
http://www.charleston.net/stories/032204/sta_22hardee.shtml
GREENVILLE--A Greenville man is suing the Hardee's restaurant chain, saying he was wrongly accused of attacking an employee and trying to rob a store.
Ronald Maurice Anderson, 22, filed a lawsuit March 1 against Hardee's Foods Inc., alleging it employed the man who accused him of attacking an employee and attempting to rob the restaurant. A spokeswoman for the chain said Hardee's has only recently been served with the lawsuit.
Anderson's suit doesn't fault the Greenville Police Department, which arrested him, or the 13th Circuit Solicitor's Office, which dropped the charges after a year because of concerns about the credibility of the sole eyewitness.
Anderson said when he went to the restaurant on Nov. 7, 2002, he saw an old friend who he hadn't seen in a while. The man worked at the restaurant and told him to drive through the drive-thru and wait for his food, he said.
The food never came, but three or four police cars surrounded him, he said.
"I get out of the car and they've got guns drawn on me," he said.
He was charged with assault and battery with intent to kill, assault with a deadly weapon and attempted armed robbery, according to arrest warrants.
What Anderson said he didn't know was that three days earlier, a man wearing a cloth over part of his face attacked an employee of the restaurant with a box cutter. The victim was cut about the head, face, body and hands as he tried to protect himself, according to warrants.
The warrants say that Anderson was identified by a witness from video footage recorded by the store's security cameras. Anderson's lawsuit alleges that the eyewitness was the employee who he thought was his friend.
Bond was set at $60,000. But Anderson's mother, Carolyn, said she couldn't afford the $6,000 a bail bondsman would have charged.
Anderson stayed in jail and was represented by a public defender. He had a preliminary hearing and was indicted. The trial was approaching. And then, as suddenly as he was arrested, Anderson was freed four months ago when the charges were dropped.
Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor Bob Ariail said the case was being prepared for trial when conflicts arose. In hindsight, Anderson spent too much time in jail before the decision was made to release him, Ariail said.
Ryan Beasley, Anderson's attorney, said he thinks his client will be completely vindicated. But someone needs to be held responsible, he said. "It's hard to believe you can go pick up some food at a Hardee's drive through and next thing you know you're in a jail cell for over a year and pretty much lose your whole life," Beasley said.
Associated Press
http://www.charleston.net/stories/032204/sta_22hardee.shtml
GREENVILLE--A Greenville man is suing the Hardee's restaurant chain, saying he was wrongly accused of attacking an employee and trying to rob a store.
Ronald Maurice Anderson, 22, filed a lawsuit March 1 against Hardee's Foods Inc., alleging it employed the man who accused him of attacking an employee and attempting to rob the restaurant. A spokeswoman for the chain said Hardee's has only recently been served with the lawsuit.
Anderson's suit doesn't fault the Greenville Police Department, which arrested him, or the 13th Circuit Solicitor's Office, which dropped the charges after a year because of concerns about the credibility of the sole eyewitness.
Anderson said when he went to the restaurant on Nov. 7, 2002, he saw an old friend who he hadn't seen in a while. The man worked at the restaurant and told him to drive through the drive-thru and wait for his food, he said.
The food never came, but three or four police cars surrounded him, he said.
"I get out of the car and they've got guns drawn on me," he said.
He was charged with assault and battery with intent to kill, assault with a deadly weapon and attempted armed robbery, according to arrest warrants.
What Anderson said he didn't know was that three days earlier, a man wearing a cloth over part of his face attacked an employee of the restaurant with a box cutter. The victim was cut about the head, face, body and hands as he tried to protect himself, according to warrants.
The warrants say that Anderson was identified by a witness from video footage recorded by the store's security cameras. Anderson's lawsuit alleges that the eyewitness was the employee who he thought was his friend.
Bond was set at $60,000. But Anderson's mother, Carolyn, said she couldn't afford the $6,000 a bail bondsman would have charged.
Anderson stayed in jail and was represented by a public defender. He had a preliminary hearing and was indicted. The trial was approaching. And then, as suddenly as he was arrested, Anderson was freed four months ago when the charges were dropped.
Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor Bob Ariail said the case was being prepared for trial when conflicts arose. In hindsight, Anderson spent too much time in jail before the decision was made to release him, Ariail said.
Ryan Beasley, Anderson's attorney, said he thinks his client will be completely vindicated. But someone needs to be held responsible, he said. "It's hard to believe you can go pick up some food at a Hardee's drive through and next thing you know you're in a jail cell for over a year and pretty much lose your whole life," Beasley said.