Customer pulls gun on Burger King worker who refused drugs as payment, CO officials say
A jury has convicted a man accused of threatening a Burger King worker who refused drugs as payment, Colorado prosecutors say.
Eugene Robertson, 40, was found guilty on multiple counts, including eight counts of attempted murder and two counts of reckless endangerment, in relation to “a 2022 crime spree,” the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Office said in an April 18 news release.
“I can’t imagine how traumatized these victims were not knowing whether the defendant would pull the trigger while pointing a gun at them,” District Attorney John Kellner said in the release.
Robertson ordered food at an Aurora Burger King at about 11 p.m. Oct. 17, 2022, but when he pulled up to the drive-thru window he tried to “pay for his meal with drugs,” prosecutors said.
The worker declined the payment, and “Robertson pulled out a gun and pointed it at the employee before driving away,” prosecutors said.
Afterward, prosecutors said a worker at a 7-Eleven across the street called 911 after a man, later identified as Robertson, “pointed a gun at his head.”
When Robertson noticed a TV screen displaying surveillance video, prosecutors said “he shot the screen” before leaving the store.
In the 7-Eleven parking lot, prosecutors said witnesses reported seeing a man, also identified as Robertson, shooting toward a man and his girlfriend, who were not injured.
Another 911 call came into Aurora Police “shortly after midnight,” prosecutors said.
“The woman told a dispatcher that a friend she knew as ‘Eugene’ was knocking on her door and when she refused to open the door, he fired shots,” prosecutors said.
The woman and others inside the apartment were not hurt, according to prosecutors.
As officers searched the apartment complex following the shooting, prosecutors said they saw Robertson, who “ran and hid behind some bushes before he was taken into custody.”
“This defendant endangered countless lives that night by recklessly firing a gun,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Taylor McCreary said in the release. “It’s a miracle no one was seriously hurt or killed.”
Robertson, who is expected to appear in court on Aug. 9 for sentencing, could potentially face “more than 400 years in prison,” prosecutors said.
This story was originally published April 19, 2024 at 11:04 AM with the headline "Customer pulls gun on Burger King worker who refused drugs as payment, CO officials say."
