A 25-year-old man is in custody after a fight outside a Florissant McDonald's in which a 15-year-old employee had her head slammed into the ground. Police are still seeking information about others involved in the fight.
Video of the incident posted on social media allegedly shows Johnny Ricks pulling Aryiah Lynch by her hair in the parking lot and assaulting her multiple times near the drive-thru of the restaurant.
click to enlarge ST. LOUIS COUNTY JAIL Johnny Ricks, now 25, faces a charge of felony assault for the beating.
The video shows numerous others involved in the fight, and police say they are interested in talking to any other witnesses and victims who may help in identifying other suspects.
Lynch's family says that the fight included a number of adults who came into the Florissant McDonald's on April 7 and began harassing the young employees.
Police say that Ricks went into the establishment when Lynch was working her shift behind the counter. He got upset and threw a tray into an electronic menu. Employees escorted Ricks outside, where he seemingly grew more belligerent. He then pulled Lynch to the ground and "stomped on her head twice," according to police.
Ricks was charged this past Tuesday with felony assault and misdemeanor property damage. He is currently in St. Louis County Jail.
“Getting stomped out by a grown man?” Lynch told First Alert 4 about the incident. “I wasn’t prepared for what was gonna happen.”
The attack left Lynch with a concussion, fractured skull and frontal lobe damage, according to a GoFundMe set up by her family to help cover medical expenses.
“In the video you can see the adult male grabbing and dragging Aryiah by her long braids, and stomping her in the head,” her family wrote in the GoFundMe. “He then let her go, but returned to punch her numerous times in the face.” They said Lynch had to undergo surgery on Wednesday and also had a broken nose.
Lynch is currently out of the hospital and on bed rest, though she hopes to return to work.
viodox0259 on April 21st, 2024 at 00:11 UTC »
I've worked in (casino) table games , at three properties across the country . Regardless if they are laughing, joking , or just pissed that they are losing , if they even mutter anything that sounds like "I'll be seeing you in the parking lot", it's an immediate 24 hour ban. Joking or not, shit like this actually does happen.
Sudden-Stops on April 20th, 2024 at 23:06 UTC »
This is disgusting. Like really really disturbing.
S_K_Y on April 20th, 2024 at 22:47 UTC »
The girl was 15, he stomped on her head twice causing a fractured skull and concussion. Came back to punch her multiple times in the face causing a broken nose and frontal lobe damage.
This shouldn't just be "assault". This is attempted murder. She's lucky to be alive.