Posted on 01/21/2005 6:45:17 AM PST by Cagey
A hulking Boston bodyguard was arrested yesterday, accused of hurling a scalding Starbucks coffee at a meter maid who slapped a ticket on his illegally parked Hummer in the Back Bay.
The alleged attack unfolded about 8:30 a.m. when Christi Noviello, 44, was walking her Berkeley and Boylston streets beat and saw the black Hummer parked in a loading zone with a woman in the passenger seat.
``I am a nice meter maid,'' Noviello told the Herald yesterday in an exclusive interview. ``As a courtesy, I gave the lady a chance to move, but she pointed at the Starbucks and refused.''
Noviello wrote a $55 ticket, and slid it under the Hummer's windshield wiper - apparently enraging its driver, Francois Youhanna.
``He started yelling, `I don't accept this ticket!' He had a Venti-sized cup of black coffee in his hand, and he flung it right in my face,'' said Noviello, just hours after she was treated for first- and second-degree burns on her face and upper torso at New England Medical Center.
``I went down, I was panicking. It hurt so bad, I thought my face was falling off,'' she said. ``It was in my eyes, I was screaming.''
Starbucks employees rushed out of the store with wet cloths to soothe the burns, as cops arrested Youhanna for assault and battery with a deadly weapon, the hot coffee, which is a felony.
Youhanna insistedhe spilled the coffee on Noviello by mistake after slipping on some ice and falling, a story his female companion echoed. But witnesses said Youhanna - who is 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds - charged at the meter maid and was very close to her face when the coffee was thrown.
He told cops he owned Gavilier Security Patrol, a bodyguard service that lists his West Roxbury home as the company's address. When a relative was reached at Youhanna's home, the man hung up when asked to comment on the incident.
Youhanna, a native of Lebanon, pleaded not guilty yesterday in Boston Municipal Court and was released on personal recognizance on condition he stay out of trouble and away from the meter maid. A pretrial conference date was set for Feb. 23.
Last year, 16 meter maids were physically assaulted and another 48 were threatened or harassed, said Tom Tinlin, deputy commissioner of the Boston Transportation Department.
``It's appalling. This behavior should not be tolerated in a civilized world,'' Tinlin said yesterday. ``Christi is one of the nicest people I know. For her to be subjected to such behavior while performing your job is a disgrace.''
"assault and battery with a deadly weapon,"
I know it can leave scarring, but "deadly"?
VENTI size drinks are the largest size drinks you can get at a starbucks. This lady got around 20 ounces of hot coffee in her face.
Triple whammy. A French Lebanese yuppie. He's doomed. DOOMED
No, but you are going on the word. She knew the Name by seeing the cup....lol
What bothers me about this is the fact that she Just happened to be outside the Local SBucks on her beat. Those places are notorius for being in areas where there is no parking available, and customers parking in yellow curb areas, generally the locals give it a wink and a nod bc they know you are in-n-out.
And BTW...Since when is 6'2" 200# HULKING??????
That sounds like a skinny guy to me.
the fact that coffee can cause burns and injury when thrown is taken into consideration in this case.
Second and third degree burns makes it a felony.
another clip for " Muslims gone wild".........
He drinks a mocha drink.. he drinks a chocolate drink.. he drinks an espresso drink....
Let's see here:
Venti size Starbuck's coffee $ 3.50
Parking ticket $55.00
Attorney fees $5000.00
Possible loss of business $?????.00
Loss of girlfriend when
Mohamad loses his moeny. ?????
That's some very expensive coffee. Probably cost more than the Hummer.
Too bad dumping a gallon of boiling water on this jag is "cruel and unusual" punishment; it would fit the crime perfectly (and probably what would happen to him back in Lebanon).
"Bet this jerk felt justified in his own mind. How dare an infidel, and a woman, dare challenge him. He probably thought he did the right thing by trying to put her in her place. Perhaps it should be a Religion of Peace hate crime"
Notice that when they're victims, they're "meter maids"; during contract negotiations, they're "Parking Enforcement Officers"?
Yeah, he shudda gone with the ordinary "ghrand-day".
François? Right.
How exactly is coffee a deadly weapon or a felony (looks like those egg heads in Mass may need to learn how to write)? A little overreaching by the police here. You don't think that something that could cause permanent disfigurement is deadly and felonius?
When one is far shorter and of the weaker sex.
That was pretty funny!!!
"another clip for " Muslims gone wild"........."
What makes you think he's a Muslim? Lots of Christians in Lebanon, and even more who have moved here. From his first name, I'd guess he's a Catholic, not a Muslim.
Not everyone from the Middle East is a Muslim.
Dear God, not a Venti. Oh, the humanity!
And she responded, "Pissin' the night away.... pissin' the night away...."
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