A woman sentenced to work at a fast-food restaurant after being convicted of throwing her Chipotle order at an employee of the chain eatery says she is committed to paying her debt to the justice system and hopes she can eventually progress past the highly publicized episode.
In a recent interview, Rosemary Hayne said again that she was sorry for the actions that landed her in court and on a video that went viral on social media. She said she’s a service industry veteran herself and believes she’s never treated a customer as brusquely as she was treated on the fateful day, but she added that she would not make any excuses as she prepared to complete her unusual judicial punishment.
“Those who know me realize that moment didn’t show my true character,” Hayne also said.
The victim in the case, Emily Russell, was working behind the counter of a Chipotle in Parma, Ohio, in September when she encountered the 39-year-old Hayne as a customer at the fast Mexican-style food establishment.
As people there recorded on their phones, an irate Hayne brought a burrito bowl up to Russell, slammed it down, and confronted her, as the Ohio news outlet WJW reported. She ultimately threw the entire bowl in Russell’s face, leading to an assault charge.
A Parma municipal court judge found Hayne guilty on 28 November. As he prepared to sentence her, the judge, Timothy Gilligan, reportedly rebuked her by likening her behavior to what is seen on a critically panned reality television show franchise.
“You didn’t get your burrito bowl the way you like it and this is how you respond? This is not ‘Real Housewives of Parma’,” Gilligan said. “This behavior is not acceptable.”
Russell told Gilligan she quit her job after the confrontation with Hayne and had been left traumatized.
Gilligan sentenced Hayne to six months in jail but suspended half of that term. He also said he would give her credit for two months of jail time if she spent at least 20 hours a week during that period working at a fast food restaurant.
Hayne told Gilligan her plan was to get a job at a restaurant so she could work off most of her sentence there rather than in jail.
She apologized to Gilligan, who nonetheless sarcastically said to her: “I bet you won’t be happy with the food you are going to get in the jail.”
Additionally, Hayne said to Russell that she was sorry and there was no excuse for her behavior.
Hayne on Thursday wouldn’t tell the Guardian where she might be working her sentence off, saying she didn’t want to tempt someone in the public to try to approach her or worse. She said it was unpleasant to go viral and to get bombarded with phone calls from various news media outlets, and she hopes things return to normal somewhat after serving her time.
“I just want to move on,” Hayne said.