McDonald’s worker, 15, left with fractured skull after adult male with rap sheet stomps her during brawl
By Chris Nesi,
2024-04-21
Warning: Disturbing content
A goon with a lengthy criminal history viciously assaulted a 15-year-old female McDonald’s worker, dragging her by the hair and repeatedly stomping on her head in the parking lot after a rowdy group of customers provoked a brawl with employees inside the restaurant earlier this month, according to cops.
Johnny Ricks, 25, was arrested for assault after he allegedly grabbed the teen by her hair and yanked her across the parking lot of the restaurant just outside St. Louis before bashing her head into the concrete and punching her in the face, St. Louis County Police said.
The girl, identified as Aryiah Lynch on a GoFundMe set up by her family, suffered a fractured skull, a broken nose and damage to her frontal lobe.
Johnny Ricks, 25, viciously attacked a 15-year-old female McDonald’s worker in unincorporated St. Louis County on April 7, police say. St Louis County Jail
“This assault has been a life changing experience for her,” the teen’s mother Shawnunique Phillips wrote on the page set up to help cover her medical expenses, which has already raised $13,000 of its $15,000 goal.
“She is fighting hard to stay upbeat and heal but this is only the beginning of a very uphill battle,” her mother wrote, saying the incident “shattered” the family’s lives.
The cowardly April 7 attack was captured in a disturbing video posted on Facebook by Phillips, who wrote that Ricks should be charged with child endangerment or attempted murder.
The fight reportedly began when Ricks, accompanied by a group of unidentified adults, pulled up to the drive-thru window at the restaurant and began behaving obnoxiously, according to Lynch’s family.
“It was getting loud … and being obnoxious in the drive-thru, so we said, ‘If you want to get your order taken, step inside,'” the teen told First Alert 4 .
The group then stormed inside the McDonald’s and started menacing the workers, throwing items around the restaurant, and spitting on “at least four” employees, she said.
Aryiah Lynch, 15, suffered a concussion, a fractured skull, a broken nose and damage to her frontal lobe. She has since been released from the hospital and hopes to return to work soon. Facebook/Shawnunique Phillips
St. Louis County Police said that at one point, Ricks became enraged and threw a food tray at an electronic menu screen, destroying it.
The brawl then spilled out into the parking lot, with the video showing at least a dozen people, both men and women, grappling and throwing fists.
In the video, a man identified by police as Ricks, who towers over the teen, can be seen dragging her around the parking lot like a ragdoll before raising his foot to nearly waist height and bringing it down on the helpless girl’s skull.
“Getting stomped out by a grown man?” the injured teen later told the local outlet. “I wasn’t prepared for what was gonna happen.”
She was treated and released from the hospital after undergoing surgery, and her GoFundMe page says she hopes to return to work soon.
A dispute at the drive-thru window led to an all-out brawl in the parking lot in which multiple adults engaged in a violent fracas. Ricks (right) was seen stomping his foot on the helpless teen’s skull. Facebook/Shawnunique Phillips
Ricks’ rap sheet reads like a crime bingo card, with public records showing charges dating back to 2016 ranging from theft and fraud to excessive speeding, disorderly conduct and even littering. In April 2023, he was arrested for aggravated assault.
Ricks is being held at the St. Louis County Justice Center on charges of felony assault and property damage in the second degree.
His next court appearance is scheduled for April 25, though it was not clear if he had retained an attorney.
“Ensuring the safety of both our employees and customers is paramount to me as a local business owner, and we have a strict workplace violence policy at my restaurants,” Jimmy Williams, owner of the McDonald’s location where the brawl broke out, told First Alert 4 in a statement.
Lynch’s family says she faces an “uphill battle.” Facebook/Shawnunique Phillips
“My team is fully cooperating with the St. Louis County Police in their investigation.”
The St. Louis County Police told the outlet they are working with the North County Precinct to investigate the incident and actively working to identify more victims, witnesses and suspects.
Ricks is being held on $150,000 cash only, no 10%, bond.
For top headlines, breaking news and more, visit nypost.com.
What happened shouldn’t have happen but why would any of them go outside with all that mayhem they should have stayed in and called the police. The guy is definitely a coward🙄beating up on that little girl.
The MAGATinator
04-23
WTF let a CHILD leave her job to go outside to fight a GROWN man?? The manager should be FIRED Ffor not controlling their employees. NO EXCUSE!! It's all too common to see the victim's so-called friends instigate these incidents for social media cred, then stand back and laugh as the victim injures someone or sustains injuries themselves. This is the sad state our society has devolved into today.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Local News
