Toy Collector Turned Violent

Marisa Veni
Sports Journalism
Professor Bishop
January 30th, 2007


Criminal Case Hypo 1:
Do You Want Fries With That?


Toy Collector Turned Violent

Collecting toys have always been a craze here in America, but what happens when a father of two assaults employees of a local Burger King to obtain a Kid’s Meal Toy from a popular children’s movie? On June 30th around 6:15pm, David Fowler, 23, of Lancaster, PA was charged with three counts of assault, malicious destruction of property and disorderly conduct after a dispute of not receiving a toy with his meal purchase.

Four employees working through the dinnertime rush at the Burger King located at the 3100 block of Kirkwood Highway near Rt. 7 in Wilmington, DE were busy taking orders when a customer had an unusual complaint.

After receiving his meal order from the drive-through window, Fowler confronted the cashier about the price of his meal and discontent of not receiving a toy from the movie, “Chicken Run”.

The cashier responded to Fowler that toys were given exclusively to children and even though Fowler had two children of his own, Fowler did not qualify to receive a toy since his children were not present in the car at the time of purchase.

Not satisfied with the cashier’s answer, Fowler then preceded to park his car and enter the Burger King shouting that he wanted a toy. This is when the violent tirade broke out over a Kid’s Meal toy.

The confrontation with Fowler and Burger King employees quickly escalated when Fowler punched two employees and threw another over the counter. During the scuffle, chaos ensued as customers fled the establishment after a store shelf collapsed, almost striking and injuring a small child nearby.

When the prosecutor’s office was reached to comment on the incident, Assistant DA Colleen McGinnis stated, “Have we become obsessed with collecting things that we have forgotten how to act?” McGinness believes that “Society should not have to tolerate this type of behavior”.

McGinness revealed that Fowler was detained to the New Castle County Detention Center shortly after the incident. Fowler was held at $10,000 bail at his June 30th arraignment, which he has failed to yet post.