2 Fort Worth men arrested, face assault charges in brawl over candy at Plano Hooter’s
Two young men from Fort Worth — accused in a brawl that started over selling candy at a Hooter’s restaurant in Plano and ended with multiple people injured — were arrested Monday, and a search continued for a third suspect, police said.
The three Fort Worth men face charges of assault in the Oct. 6 incident, which started when employees asked children to leave the restaurant after they had attempted to sell candy there, police said in a news release Tuesday.
Videos taken of the incident have gone viral.
Plano police identified one arrested suspect as Jeremiah Powell, 19, of Fort Worth. He faces charges of assault with bodily injury and riot participation and is being held on a $60,000 bond.
The other arrested suspect is Tony Marshall, 20, of Fort Worth, who faces charges of assault with bodily injury, two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and robbery, police said. He is being held on a $160,000 bond in the Collin County Jail.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Jay Powell, 19, of Fort Worth, and charges him with aggravated assault, police said.
On Tuesday, Plano police officials thanked residents who provided private messages and tips regarding the identity of the suspects.
Additional information received from the residents advised that this group was involved in similar activities across the Dallas-Fort Worth area and that several of these incidents required a police response, Plano police said in the Tuesday news release.
The Plano incident was reported at about 7 p.m. on Oct. 6 at the Hooter’s restaurant in the 700 block of North Central Expressway. When they arrived, Plano police officers saw a broken front window and multiple injured victims, the release said.
During a preliminary investigation, police determined that four boys had entered the restaurant to sell candy. According to management, the same children had been to the business in the past, had been asked to leave, and complied without incident.
On this occasion, children became upset and began causing a disturbance inside the restaurant, police said.
Hooter’s management asked the boys to leave and were trying to escort them out of the business with the assistance of several witnesses, Plano police said.
Once outside, the children began hitting the glass windows of the restaurant, police said.
The three men, who had brought the boys to the restaurant, then appeared and began assaulting the manager and a customer outside of the restaurant, Plano police said. At the end of the assault, one of the men picked up what appeared to be a cigarette disposal stand and shattered the front window to the business, police said in the news release.
Flying glass shards caused additional injuries to victims inside the restaurant, police said. The suspects then fled the scene prior to officers’ arrival in a black Buick Encore.
Video was obtained from employees and customers, and two such videos have been posted to social media.
Police ask that anyone with information regarding this incident or the location of suspect Jay Powell to contact the Plano Police Department’s Tip Line at 972-941-2148.
This story was originally published October 18, 2022 at 2:59 PM.
