Corey Pujols Tampa Dunkin Donuts manager fatally punches customer, 77, using racial slurs only for the man to fall down and die two days later. Faces 30 years jail.
A Dunkin’ Donuts store manager at a Florida location has been charged with manslaughter after fatally punching a 77-year-old customer who he said repeatedly called him a racial slur.
Corey Pujols, 27, is accused of striking the elderly customer with a single punch at a Dunkin’ store in a Marathon gas station in Tampa, FL, last week.
The punch sent the man falling backwards, causing him to hit his head on the concrete floor.
The elderly man, who has not been named by authorities, was rushed to hospital where he died two days later. Also not immediately clear was the man’s race.
The incident unfolded at the coffee shop at 410 S 50th St., just south of the Lee Roy Selmon Expressway, at around 1:30pm on May 4.
Tampa Dunkin’ worker sentenced for fatally punching white customer who used n word
Customer was regular described as extremely rude
Tampa Police said the 77-year-old had first gone through the drive-thru window at the Dunkin’ store.
He then became upset with staff about a lack of service and was asked to leave by store employees.
Police said the elderly man instead parked his car and entered the store where he got into a verbal argument with Pujols.
Pujols claimed the man was a regular customer at the store and was ‘extremely rude’ that day, according to the arrest report.
Pujols, who is black, said the customer then called him a racial slur.
The 27-year-old said he confronted the man about the slur, telling him to repeat what he had said.
When the customer repeated it, Pujols punched him once in the face, sending him backwards to the ground, the report said. The slur was not described further by police.
Charges upgraded from battery to manslaughter upon customer’s death
The incident was captured on the store’s surveillance camera, with the footage showing the customer did not touch Pujols first, reported Tampa Bay Times.
Police and fire rescue crews were called to the scene to find the elderly man unconscious and his head bleeding.
He was taken to Tampa General Hospital and placed in intensive care.
He died two days later. An autopsy showed he suffered a skull fracture and brain contusions as a result of blunt trauma to the head, reported Tampa Bay Times.
His death will be ruled a homicide, the Hillsborough Medical Examiner’s Office said.
Pujols was initially arrested for battery on a person older than 65 following the incident. He was released on $2,000 bond the next day.
Following the customer’s death, Pujols was arrested again and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a person older than 65.
He is now being held without bail.
If convicted, Pujols faces up to 30 years behind bars.
‘We are deeply saddened by the incident at our franchised restaurant in Tampa,’ a Dunkin’s spokesperson said in a statement. ‘The franchisee, who independently owns and operates this restaurant, is fully cooperating with the local authorities. As this is an ongoing investigation, we defer any additional questions to the police.’
The fast food worker has since been issued a public defender.
Formerly known as Dunkin’ Donuts, the company changed its name in 2018, dropping ‘Donuts’ from its moniker.
