ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The woman upset that her order took too long, leading to a Burger King restaurant being shot, now faces charges along with her longtime boyfriend, who stands accused of pulling the trigger, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Ashley Mason was arrested on charges of principal to first-degree murder and aggravated assault with a firearm in connection with the death of 22-year-old Desmond Armond Joshua, reported sister station WKMG. Joshua had just started working at the restaurant two days before the incident.
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Court documents show various witness testimony accusing Mason of pointing a gun in the direction of the fight between the victim and her boyfriend, 37-year-old Kelvis Rodriguez-Tormes,. She is also accused of giving him the gun used in the shooting.
Mason was arrested Wednesday on charges of principal to first-degree murder and aggravated assault with a firearm.
A judge on Thursday ruled Mason, 31, to be held on no bond on the murder charge. She also cannot have contact with the victim’s family or witnesses, except her daughter.
Deputies said the shooting happened around 7:30 p.m. Saturday at a Burger King in the 7000 block of E. Colonial Drive. Deputies said they found Joshua suffering from a gunshot wound in the parking lot. He was taken to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
As part of the investigation, video was recovered that showed Joshua in a physical altercation with a man who had him in a headlock, according to the affidavit.
Woman allegedly got out of car and yelled that she was going to have ‘her man’ come to restaurant
A witness said the restaurant was busy that night and the drive-thru was backed up, which caused customers to have to wait longer than usual.
Mason’s 13-year-old daughter told officers she was in the front seat of her mom’s car and said Joshua was disrespectful to her mother, according to court documents.
She told officers she thought Joshua was talking about them behind the drive-thru window and threw a small drink at the drive-thru window, according to court documents.
The customer, later identified as Mason, was mad about the delay so she got out of her vehicle and began yelling that she was going to have “her man” come to the restaurant. An employee refunded her $40 and asked her to leave, records show.
Mason waited in the parking lot in her black sedan for a few minutes, then drove away and returned along with a white truck accompanying her with a man identified as 37-year-old Kelvis Rodriguez-Tormes, who was demanding that Joshua fight him, deputies said.
Initial reports from deputies said that a witness pulled Rodriguez-Tormes off of Joshua, then Rodriguez-Tormes went to his truck and got the gun, telling Joshua, “You got 2 seconds before I shoot you.”
Court documents show it was Mason’s gun.
Shortly thereafter, Rodriguez-Tormes shot Joshua before driving away in the white truck while the black sedan also fled, deputies, said.
Joshua was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died.
Rodriguez-Tormes was arrested and charged with first-degree murder with a firearm, destruction of evidence and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.