Man who attacked South St. Pete McDonalds worker is done serving time

Daniel Willis Taylor, after attacking employee Yasmine James at a St. Petersburg McDonald’s, is sparking a strike by workers demanding protection from violence.

The man who attacked a South St. Petersburg McDonalds worker on New Year’s Eve spent just 58-days in jail for the incident, according to court records.

Daniel Taylor was arrested December 31, 2018 after reaching across the counter and attacking cashier Yasmine James and then later kicking another employee in the stomach.

Taylor accosted the cashier after noticing there were no straws available in the lobby. A video of the incident filmed in the McDonald’s lobby went viral.

Taylor was released February 26th after pleading no contest to the incident and serving 58-days in jail.

He’s also serving one year probation, which can be reduced to six-months and will have to pay a $1,000 fine over the incident. A judge also ordered the man to take anger management courses and possibly undergo a mental health evaluation, according to court records.

A McDonald’s customer filmed the incident on her cell phone when a she saw a verbal debate between the two begin. Taylor was angry there were no plastic straws available and berated the employee over it. James informed him that it was city law to not provide straws, which only angered Taylor further.

The St. Pete City Council had just voted to impose a plastic straw ban by 2020 and was implementing a grace period for the ban in which customers had to specifically request them rather than be automatically provided one with their order.

Taylor lunged across the counter and grabbed James who, much to the enjoyment of onlookers and video viewers, returned with a series of blows to Taylor. She later told reporters in an interview she had taken boxing lessons.

Taylor can be heard in the video saying he wanted James fired to which she replied he was going to go to jail.

The incident gained national and international attention and served as yet another example of race relations many feel are far from normalized in the 21st Century.

The judge ordered Taylor to stay away from the McDonalds where the incident occurred as well as the two victims.