HOUSTON – A man accused of shooting at restaurant workers over barbeque sauce is now being held in jail with no bond.
Investigators say 36-year-old Andre Thomas became infuriated over a takeout order. Thomas is now facing two charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and burglar of habitation.
“It’s certainly bizarre,” Jill Wells with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office said.
Wells says it all started at the Dickey’s BBQ Pit on Shady Drive in Northeast Harris County back in January.
Prosecutors said Thomas picked up his order and then left.
“Then, he calls the restaurant angry and upset because they did not give him enough BBQ sauce in his to-go order,” Wells said.
Workers tried resolving the problem, but Thomas was unhappy and went back to the establishment.
“Now, he’s verbally threatening them [saying] ‘I’ll come back and shoot up the place,’” Wells said.
Authorities say Thomas never even left the parking lot.
“He waited for them to leave,” Wells said. “He was by some nearby gas pumps waiting for them to leave.”
Investigators say Thomas followed the workers down the road and fired shots into their car.
“He strikes one of the complaint victims five times, breaking a bone in their arm,” she said. “The other victim, thank goodness, was not shot.”
Thomas is a felon who was already out on bond and facing five other felony bonds at the time of the shooting.
Now, he’s back in jail. All because of BBQ sauce.
“In this case, the judge immediately revoked his old bonds. He is at no bond on all of his new cases and again today, she reaffirmed her decision,” Wells added.
Wells said the situation could have been a lot worse and the workers could have been killed.
Thomas has a previous criminal history dating back to 2009 that includes Retaliation, Harassment, Felon in Possession of a weapon, assault of a peace officer, and assault on a family member.
His arraignment is set for Feb. 28 and a bond hearing will be held in April.