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Bad Restaurant Review Leads To Alleged Drive-By Shooting
Monica Walley wrote a Facebook post accusing the Daybreak Diner of refusing to serve her disabled mother. That night, someone fired into her living room, police say.
A negative restaurant review posted on Facebook was the apparent catalyst of a drive-by shooting, according to police.
On Aug. 20, victim Monica Walley wrote a Facebook post accusing the Daybreak Diner in Orlando of refusing to serve her disabled mother, according to the Orlando Sentinel. She also ignited a social media campaign against the diner.
"The social media campaign resulted in negative online reviews, negative social media posts and harassing and angry phone calls to the restaurant," a police report said, according to WFTV-9 in Orlando. "The restaurant's owner, Lizabeth Johnson, later stated she felt that day that her business was ruined as a result of the negative social media campaign."
The diner owner’s son, Michael Johnson and his roommates Jesse Martin and Norman Auvil allegedly seethed over the the negative attention. Johnson and his girlfriend work at the diner, a business they reportedly hope to inherit, according to WFTV-9.
After finding Walley’s address online, the three men allegedly drove to Walley’s home.
"Johnson drove the white Ford Flex while Martin navigated from the back passenger seat and Auvil rode in the front passenger seat," a police report states, according to WFTV-9. "Johnson and Martin contend they drove to the Walley residence with the intent to harm someone or to cause property damage."
According to the report, Johnson and Martin thought they were driving to the home for a fight, not for a shooting. But a shooting is what erupted. Auvil is accused of firing three shots into the home. One of the bullets entered the home, nearly hitting Kenneth Walley who was sitting on a couch, according to police. However, nobody was struck or injured in the drive-by.
"I actually could feel the air from the bullet as it passed by me," Walley told WFTV-9 in Orlando on Friday. "It missed me by about 4 inches."
Auvil was arrested on Thursday. He has been charged with shooting into a building, shooting from a vehicle and abuse of a disabled person. He is being held on a $4,300 bond.
Martin and Johnson have not been arrested, and both told police that they observed Auvil having “violent outbursts,” according to WTFV-9.
"I didn't think anybody was crazy enough to do something like this over something so small," Monica Walley told WTFV-9. She defends her Facebook review and her social media campaign against the diner.
"It's my right to be able to tell others what my experience is and what happened and stand up for my mother," she said. "I think that anybody in my shoes would have done the same thing."
[Photo: Orange County Jail]
