Oregon woman poured soda on food cart worker, told her to ‘go back to Mexico’
An Oregon woman is facing hate crime charges for allegedly dumping soda on a Mexican food cart worker and telling her to “go back to Mexico,” police said.
The beef began when Sierra McDonald, 30, who was recently indicted on bias crime and other charges, ordered food from the Portland cart and refused to pay for it, saying it was too expensive, The Oregonian reported.
The Sept. 21 confrontation escalated as McDonald, who is black, told the woman to “go back to Mexico” and poured soda on her head. She also doused the woman’s grill and chicken with the beverage, the victim told police.
The alleged victim called police, but McDonald hung up on the officers who were trying to interview her about the incident, police said.
Fuming that the woman had called the cops, McDonald returned later that day and threatened the worker and another employee with a wooden stake that had a pointed tip, according to charging documents.
McDonald, of Portland, is accused of spitting into the food cart and trying to toss chicken off the grill, forcing the workers to chuck 12 whole chickens due to contamination concerns, police said.
She later told cops she thought workers at the food cart were racist because “they served white people faster than they served her,” court documents show.
The woman McDonald allegedly threatened initially reported having a heart attack after the dispute, citing the fear and stress of the incident, according to the documents.
Police were unable to arrest McDonald after the incident because she refused to leave her apartment. She was taken into custody Sunday before being released Monday, the newspaper reported.
McDonald is also facing charges of criminal mischief, menacing, harassment and unlawful use of a weapon.
Photo Credit: Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office