2 charged with rioting at Wawa after dispute over cigars
A man and a woman were arrested Thursday and charged with rioting last week at a Wawa store in Tacony, police said.
A man and a woman were arrested Thursday and charged with rioting last week at a Wawa store in Tacony, police said.
Barbara Bayona, 43, and Jonathan Rodriguez, 20, both of the 6400 block of Ditman Street, were charged with riot, criminal conspiracy, terroristic threats, and related offenses for the melee that occurred at 6400 Torresdale Ave. last Friday.
A video of the incident, recorded on a cellphone and viewed more than 600,000 times on social media, shows a group of men and women arguing with employees and customers, and violently throwing food and other display items on the floor. At one point several in the group start fighting with a customer.
Police said they were called to the Wawa at 10:25 p.m. to respond to a report of a disturbance between the group and employees over the purchase of cigars.
The group had left before police arrived, but returned about an hour later and started the altercation shown on the video. The second time, police again arrived after the group had departed.
The riot caused $700 in damage, police said.
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