UPDATE NO. 2, MARCH 25, 10:57 A.M.: Authorities have released booking photos of dine-and-dash suspects Rowshaid Cordell Pellum, Santeea Munay Ralph, Shyteice Lashay Miles and Markeisha Michelle Williams and video of waitress Maria Uriostegui being run over outside Mexico Lindo Que Rico restaurant in unincorporated Anaheim Sunday.
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What follows are two views of 28-year-old Uriostegui being run over:
For more details on the incident and the charges against the suspects, see Update No. 1 and the Original Post on the next page …
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UPDATE NO. 1, MARCH 24, 12:52 P.M.: The Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA) has announced the charges filed against four people who were in a car that allegedly ran over the legs of a waitress outside Mexico Lindo Que Rico restaurant in unincorporated Anaheim Sunday night.
Rowshaid Cordell Pellum, 24, of Cerritos, was charged today with one felony count of aggravated assault, one felony count hit and run with injury, and one misdemeanor count of defrauding an innkeeper. If convicted, he faces up to four years and eight months in state prison. The OCDA will request Pellum's bail be set at $50,000 at arraignment this afternoon.
Santeea Munay Ralph, 23, Shyteice Lashay Miles, 19, and Markeisha Michelle Williams, 18, all of Long Beach, each were charged with one misdemeanor count of defrauding an innkeeper and face up to six months in the Orange County Jail each if convicted. Ralph is also scheduled to be arraigned today while the other young women, who are out of custody, are expected to be arraigned at a later date, the OCDA says.
The victim, 28-year-old Maria Uriostegui, told reporters after being released from the hospital Monday that she had a feeling the four diners were going to walk out on their bill. “When they got there, there was just something that–I just had a feeling that something was not going to work out at the end of them having lunch,” she said. “And I kept kind of a close eye on them because I just had that sense. And yes, they just walked out and I went to tell them, 'I'm sorry you guys forgot to pay your bill.' They, the four of them, turned around, looked at me, laughed and just kept walking to their car.”
Uriostegui said she was hoping to get a license plate from their car, but the car had no plates on it. But Orange County sheriff's Lt. Lloyd Downing told City News Service: “It wasn't a smart idea for her to go out and confront them. That wasn't an accident. They
weren't getting away. They wanted her out of the way.”
ORIGINAL POST, MARCH 23, 10:51 A.M.: A dine-and-dash at a Mexican restaurant in unincorporated Anaheim Sunday evening resulted in a waitress who gave chase being hit-and-runover and hospitalized, and four people being arrested on assault and other charges early this morning, according to sheriff's deputies.
The drama began just after 6:20 p.m. Sunday, when the 28-year-old waitress walked into the parking lot at Mexico Lindo Que Rico, 10962 Magnolia Ave., after the four who left without paying their bill, said Lt. Jeff Hallock, the Orange County sheriff's spokesman.
When the unidentified waitress contacted the foursome who were sitting in a black Volkswagen sedan, the vehicle drove off, knocking her to the ground and running over her legs, Hallock said. Her legs were not broken but she did suffer minor to moderate injuries that required treatment at a local hospital overnight. She is expected to recover, Hallock added.
Deputies patrolling Stanton noticed a black VW sedan in the parking lot of the Motel 6 at 7450 Katella Ave. around 1 this morning, said Hallock, who noted a preliminary investigation indicated the vehicle was the one that hit the waitress.
Four people staying in the motel were arrested: Rowshaid Pellum, 24, of Cerritos; and Markeisha Williams, 18; Shyteice Miles, 19; and Santeea Ralph, 23, all of Long Beach.
Pellum was held on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon (ADW), Williams, Miles and Ralph were popped for accessory to ADW and all four face conspiracy and defrauding an innkeeper counts. They were booked into Orange County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail each and are expected to appear in court Tuesday, said Hallock, who added that booking photos are not being released at this time.
That is because the investigation continues, and anyone with information is asked to call the Orange County Sheriff's Department at 714.647.7000 or leave an anonymous tip with Orange County Crime Stoppers at 855.847.6227 (855-TIP-OCCS), via occrimestoppers.org or by texting to 274637 (C-R-I-M-E-S) from a cell phone. (All text messages should begin with the letters “OCCS”.).
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OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.