In December, all charges were dropped against the McDonald's cashier who used a metal rod to beat two customers who slapped him and recklessly jumped over the counter at the West Village location in October. While 31-year-old Rayon McIntosh was off the hook, a jury voted to indict Denise Darbeau and Rachel Edwards, the two women who jumped over the counter, on burglary charges. Now, police have testified that the two women were engaged in a drunken lovers' quarrel the night of the incident: "Shut the f--- up, you b----. You're not even hurt. I'm bleeding from the head," Darbeau said to Edwards after she complained about Darbeau not loving her.
After the incident occurred around 11:30 p.m. on October 12th, the two women started arguing in front of police. "Why did this happen? Why don't you love me the way I love you?" Edwards said, according to the papers. "My back hurts, I'm not faking this." Darbeau responded harshly, yelling at her that Edwards had caused the trouble with her drinking. Prior to the McDonald's confrontation, the two women had knocked back "five shots" of tequila at the Fat Black Pussycat, just steps away from the eatery, according to Edwards testimony.
The fight started when Darbeau tried to pay for their food with a $50 bill; that worker wanted to check the authenticity, as was store policy. The two women allegedly taunted McIntosh, who brought the order to the counter, calling him a "bitch ass n--ga," and saying "your mother's a bitch." McIntosh said in an interview that Darbeau spat at him, threatened to "cut me up," came across the counter and slapped him. When Edwards jumped across to join in, McIntosh says instinct kicked in: "I was being attacked by aggressive people I didn't know," said McIntosh. "I was just defending myself. They came in and went crazy on me." You can see the rest of the incident play out in the video below:
According to DNAInfo, Edwards explained to police at the scene about the outburst: "She's really upset right now. She really loves me. That is my wife." According to the Post, Darbeau was increasingly agitated and hostile to police officers at the scene, screaming at EMT workers, "You bitch ass n--- s! I will wash you. I will wash you n----s. I'm good. I'm good. I just want to go home. Don't touch me. You n----s is p----," she adds, making a reference to the female anatomy. She also added, "If I was white you wouldn't be arresting me. If this was one of your family members, you wouldn't be doing this. You're doing this because I'm black. You cracker motherf----ers."
This was Edwards statement about the incident: "I don't remember anything that happened inside of the McDonalds. I just remember being behind the counter and being hit by the employee behind the counter. I was trying to block being hit with my arm and was hiding underneath the counter. I don't remember how I got behind the counter."
The women's attorney, Harold Baker, maintains that they were the victims and that McDonald’s employees provoked the dispute. He suggested that employees had hurled anti-gay epithets at the couple: "The video does not have everything in it," Baker insisted. He added, "I wouldn't characterize them as tough girls. I think they are misunderstood."
