SPRINGFIELD, MA - A restaurant owner in Springfield is facing an armed robbery charge and other charges after he confronted two dine-and-dashers who reportedly attracted a mob when he confronted the alleged non-paying miscreants.
Anyone who has worked in the fast-casual dine-in industry has likely encountered the unsavory instances of dine-and-dashers. For corporatized entities, the illegal act is practically baked in as a cost of doing business; for standalone eateries, the sting of the theft is detrimental.
So, when 61-year-old Nadim Kashouh attempted to recoup his loss from two alleged dine-and-dashers earlier in September who skipped out on a $92.40 bill, somehow he wound up being charged with armed robbery.
On September 18, Springfield Police responded to a reported gun incident at approximately 8:00 p.m. near Dwight Street and Harrison Avenue. When officers arrived on the scene, they found a group had amassed after Kashouh followed two accused dine-and-dashers, identified as a 17-year-old female and an 18-year-old male named Javonnie Lee, with bystanders accusing Kashouh of having brandished a firearm.
Upon investigating the disturbance, authorities say Kashouh had followed Lee and the female juvenile after they bailed on their $92.40 bill at his restaurant, Nadim’s Downtown Mediterranean Grill. The two alleged dine-and-dashers didn’t dispute the aforementioned, according to police, reportedly telling police they skipped out after their payment method was declined twice.
What allegedly occurred during the pursuit and confrontation now has local authorities vilifying a small business owner trying to collect on what was owed to him.
Police say Kashouh swiped the juvenile female’s cellphone after catching up with the duo and demanded payment. During this alleged version of events, police say Kashouh punched the 18-year-old male and elbowed the juvenile female. A crowd had gathered amid the confrontation, and police say Kashouh pointed his firearm toward the amassed crowd.
Kashouh reportedly doesn’t refute the use of his legally owned firearm during the incident but claims he brandished the weapon in self-defense, suggesting the crowd that had gathered wasn’t exactly the welcoming type
Springfield Police then arrested Kashouh on charges of two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, armed robbery with a firearm over the cellphone, and assault and battery. Bear in mind, the cellphone was eventually recovered, but somehow Kashouh is being deemed the alleged robber in this scenario.
As for the alleged dine-and-dashers? They simply got misdemeanor criminal complaints for defrauding a restaurant. No mugshot, no real consequences, yet they’re the only two in this scenario who allegedly took something from someone that cannot be returned.
A man gets hoodwinked by two alleged freeloading youths, has to chase them down, gets confronted by a presumably hostile crowd in favor of the fleeing miscreants, and he’s the one with a mugshot and felony charges.
Make it make sense.
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