A D.C. man has pleaded guilty and has been sentenced for two violent confrontations in the District, including one incident in which prosecutors say he spit and threw things at Chipotle employees in a bias-related assault.
The United State’s Attorney for the District of Columbia’s Office said Johnnie Williamson, 36, was sentenced to 450 days in jail for the two incidents which happened in 2020.
During the first confrontation on June 14, 2020, investigators said Williamson pulled a knife on a person inside Union Station during an argument.
The second confrontation at a Chipotle restaurant on Washington Place Northeast was prosecuted as a hate crime.
Prosecutors said on the evening of Dec. 27, 2020, Williamson went into the restaurant and asked workers what he could get for $8. He soon grew frustrated with the employee helping him, according to court records due to a language barrier.
The confrontation escalated after a manager came over, and told Williamson what the money he had would get him on the menu. Angry with the manager’s response, Williamson reportedly began yelling a series of xenophobic, ethnic and transphobic slurs at the employee and also at the manager.
That slurs, according to investigators, were followed by Williamson jumping on a counter and spitting on the employee. Williamson then threw food and serving spoons at the employee, hitting her in the hand, a U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Columbia news release said.
Williamson is then accused of pushing the cash register off the counter and throwing a fire extinguisher at the manger, hitting her in the leg. Before leaving, court documents said he threatened to return to kill the employees.
Last Wednesday, Williamson pleaded guilty to one count of bias-related assault and one count of attempted possession of a prohibited weapon. He was sentenced Monday. Williams will not stay in jail due to being given credit for time served. One condition of his sentence is he must serve one year of supervised probation and must participate in mental health treatment and supervision.
