Man on violent rampage breaks into Midtown steakhouse, hotel and 7-Eleven
By Kemberly Richardson
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MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) — A 36-year-old man is facing serious charges after a camera captured him breaking into a steakhouse in Manhattan, police said.
He then continued his destructive rampage in a hotel and then a 7-Eleven, according to investigators.
Custom-made doors at Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse on 9th Avenue in Midtown were boarded up on Sunday after being destroyed.
“I thought he kicked it in, but this was more damage than anything we anticipated,” said General Manager Muhammed Yaseen.
Yaseen says there are tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of damage. Security cameras caught the suspect, identified by police as Jonathan Jones, breaking into the restaurant around 2:30 a.m. He used one of the eatery’s barriers out front.
“He picked up one of those and weaponized that stuff, and he was using that since it was metal pieces,” Yaseen said.
Once inside, Yaseen says the man headed right to the bar, grabbed a bottle of gin, took a swig and tossed it, shattering a glass shelf.
“No one got hurt, thank god, that’s a good thing, no one was hurt,” Yaseen adds.
Jones then left, and police say he headed to 8th Avenue just off 28th Street to a hotel where he allegedly punched an employee in the face and snatched a fire extinguisher.
He then moved again, entering the 7-Eleven next door and discharging the fire extinguisher.
The staff at Uncle Jack’s say it took them hours to clean up the mess on one of the busiest days of the year. They were unable to handle all the reservations due to this.
“It kind of distracted us from the real job we wanted to do – get the kitchen ready, get the staff ready,” said Yaseen.
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