The woman who threw a bowl of food at a Chipotle worker has been sentenced to two months of work at a fast food job

New York
CNN
—

A woman who threw a bowl of hot food at a Chipotle worker has been sentenced to one month in prison and two months of work at a fast food job.

Videos The story of the woman, Rosemary Hine, who berated Chipotle worker Emily Russell on Sept. 5 and then threw food at her at point-blank range, went viral after the incident. Hine, a 39-year-old mother of four, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge and received sentencing last week in Parma, Ohio, municipal court. Judge Timothy Gilligan gave her a choice between a 90-day prison sentence or a 30-day sentence plus 60 days of work at a fast food job.

“Do you want to walk in her shoes for two months and learn how people should treat people, or do you want to serve your prison time?” Gilligan asked Hine at the hearing.

“I would like to walk in her shoes,” Hine replied.

Gilligan and her lawyer told CNN on Wednesday that Hine has not yet found a job. Her lawyer, Joseph O’Malley, said his client had no criminal record before the incident and was truly sorry for her actions that day.

“Let’s give her the opportunity to not let this one day define the rest of her life,” he told CNN.

Gilligan said Hayne would have to get court approval for her job, and she would have to work there 20 hours a week. Hine currently does not have a job, O’Malley said.

Gilligan told CNN he thought about the potential unusual punishment two days before the hearing in November.

He added: “Every time you watch the video, you feel more and more upset.” “I was thinking: What can I do instead of just making her sit in prison.”

When asked if he would want to hire Hine if he ran a fast food restaurant, the judge said he didn’t think she would have trouble finding a job.

“I don’t see it as a greater danger than someone walking down the street,” he said. “I looked at her as someone who had lost her temper.”

Gilligan said that this is the first time that this type of ruling has been issued, but unfortunately this is not the first incident of this kind that has occurred before him. He said there was one case a couple of years ago where a customer who didn’t get a cookie in a Happy Meal at a McDonald’s reached through the drive-thru window and started punching the worker. He said that this defendant was sentenced to 90 days in prison.

“I see these cases more often than I would like,” said Gilligan, who has been a judge for 30 years.

When asked to comment on the case, Chipotle responded: “The health and safety of our employees is our top priority, and we are pleased to see justice served for any individual who does not treat our team members with the respect they deserve.”

Hine refused Request an interview via O’Malley. Russell told the court she was still suffering from stress from the incident, and that she left her job at Chipotle after the attack and found another job. She said she would like to begin counseling to deal with the trauma she still suffers from the attack.

A friend of Russell’s has started a fundraising effort on social media, and has raised $7,300 so far, most of that money coming since the first news reports of Hayne’s sentencing last week. Russell told WJW in Cleveland she was pleased with Hine’s sentence.

“You will get what you deserve,” she told the station. “She didn’t get a slap on the wrist. She’s going to learn to work in fast food, and hopefully that will be good.”

In addition to the jail time and time spent working at fast food, Hine will have to pay a $250 fine and will be on probation for two years. Gilligan told CNN he was not sure Hine was as sorry as she claimed to be in court, noting that she was still complaining about the food during the hearing.

“She has not yet realized that this is inappropriate,” Gilligan told CNN on Wednesday.

“You didn’t get your burrito bowl the way you wanted it, and this is how you respond?” Hein said during the hearing. He pointed out that she would not be happy with the food she would bring to prison.