VERO BEACH, FL – On Saturday, a customer of the Little Caesar’s Pizza restaurant in Vero Beach became irate after never receiving a refund for an order she canceled because she claimed employees weren’t washing their hands.
“On Saturday, Feb. 27, around 10 p.m., we responded to Little Caesars Pizza in the 700 block of 27th Ave. SW. because their staff wanted a customer removed,” the Indian River Sheriff’s Office said. “Aurea Barrios-Cardenas, 46, of Ft. Pierce, and Kathmia Strachan, 42, of Indian River County, face charges of affray (fighting in a public place that disturbs the peace).”
Strachan said she came to the restaurant two weeks prior to order food. She saw the employees not washing their hands and failed to wear protective gloves. After seeing this she requested an immediate refund. At the time, employees told her it would be three to five business days because she used a bank card. When she was arrested she said she never received the refund so she returned to the location to get her money.
“If you don’t like the way a restaurant is run, rant about it on Facebook and take your business elsewhere. Just don’t take it out on the employees,” the Indian River Sheriff’s Office said.
On Saturday, Strachan had waited long enough and went to the pizza place to demand her money back. An employee informed Strachan that they could not give her cash from the drawer and they had no control over the refund processing. Strachan began yelling and cursing the employee, whose mother, Barrios-Cardenas, was there to pick up from her shift.
Strachan told the woman to “mind her own business,” but Barrios-Cardenas continued. Strachan then picked up her cell phone and began videotaping the incident, getting within inches of the woman’s face. Barrios-Cardenas pushed Strachan’s hand away and grabbed her arm, which led to a fistfight between the two women.
Employees at the eatery attempted to intervene and break up the melee.
“After reviewing surveillance footage, we determined both women were culpable in the incident, so both were arrested on a charge of affray,” the IRSO said.