A manager at a McDonald’s in California is undergoing treatment for serious burns after a reported incident where a co-worker allegedly doused him with hot oil, as highlighted by CBS News.
Court records shared by Oxygen reveal that Jalani Bluett faces charges of battery causing serious bodily harm, mayhem, and assault with a deadly weapon against Jacob Smith.
The 23-year-old Bluett was detained at the Sutter County Jail and subsequently entered a plea of not guilty, according to The Sacramento Bee. Attempts to reach Jalani’s legal representative for comments were initially unsuccessful, as reported by Oxygen.
The incident occurred on May 30, just as 20-year-old Jacob Smith finished his shift in Yuba City.
“He was in the office, preparing to count the money, when he noticed something from the corner of his eye,” Jacob’s mother, Amber Smith, recounted to KCRA 3. “He turned, and suddenly, the oil was hurled at him.”
“The pain he’s experiencing is so excruciating,” Amber told the outlet, “that they can’t give him a level of pain medicine outside of the ICU.”
He suffered severe second-degree burns to his face, arm and back, Amber wrote on GoFund Me.
“As his mother,” she wrote on a GoFundMe, “it broke my heart when he looked at me and said, “Why would he do this to me?’”
Officers from the Sutter County Sheriff’s Office were originally unable to locate Jalani following the alleged incident, which triggered a missing-person announcement on Facebook. The post read in part, “Jalani is considered at risk due to a diagnosis and vulnerabilities.”
However, the next day, police located and arrested Jalani, according to a Facebook update from the sheriff’s office.
“The serious incident that took place at our restaurant this past weekend is deeply concerning,” the McDonald’s owner John Cook told Oxygen, “and our focus is on supporting our employee, Jacob, as he recovers.”
He continued, “The safety and well-being of our employees, guests and community remain our top priority. The other individual involved is no longer employed by our organization, and we are fully cooperating with local law enforcement as they continue their investigation.”
Jalani’s next court date is June 10, according to The Sacramento Bee.
