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You want abuse with that?
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
By Dan Majors, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
While many Pennsylvanians began the new year with the traditional meal of pork and sauerkraut, Gregg Luttman, 22, of DuBois in Clearfield County, started with a hankerin' for fast food.
And you know what they say: Have it your way.
Luttman and a couple of friends piled into his truck and headed for a Burger King restaurant in Sandy Township, about 5 p.m. Saturday.
Evidently, their resolution about eating better was short-lived. But what chance does a resolution have against a flame-broiled Whopper?
The trouble was that this particular Burger King was out of French fries. (It's OK to call them that again, isn't it?)
Now, usually, a fast-food restaurant running out of French fries is shocking enough. How we wish Luttman had simply gone to a telephone and called the news media.
Luttman, however, was too angry to do that. According to the Courier-Express in DuBois, he pulled up to the next window (which you're supposed to do) and became belligerent with the fry-less restaurant worker (which you aren't supposed to do). He then made an obscene gesture and began to pull away.
But, according to Sandy Township police Sgt. Rod Fairman, Luttman didn't leave the property. He stopped his truck and he and another man went into the Burger King, where Luttman repeatedly cursed at the restaurant staff.
Having gotten that off his chest -- Imagine! No French fries! Why, it's more upsetting than a tsunami! -- Luttman and his buddy got back into his truck to leave.
That's when he noticed a couple of restaurant workers outside taking down his license plate number.
Whatever happened to the days when you could curse fast-food workers without fear of recrimination?
The police said Luttman then turned the Burger King parking lot into a drive-thru of death with the intention of picking up an employee or two on his back bumper. He nearly hit one employee.
The restaurant workers scrambled back behind the safety of their counter and before you could say "Can I help whoever's next?" they were on the phone with the police.
Luttman was arrested a short distance away on Route 255, where he scuffled with police, kicking out the back window of a police cruiser after he was handcuffed.
The police report didn't say whether or not he got any of his other food. It did say that he was handed a menu of charges that included assault, reckless endangerment, reckless driving, harassment, drunken driving, fleeing police, disorderly conduct and institutional vandalism. (That last one is for the police car window.)
The man with Luttman was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant, police said.
The Associated Press reported that Luttman was released from the Clearfield County Jail yesterday after posting $2,500 bail.
Which is a shame, because I understand that the jail menu includes some pretty tasty fries.
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