Scott Rodgers was convicted Thursday in Holland, Michigan, of misdemeanor assault and battery for an incident in October in which he threw an Egg McMuffin at a McDonald's restaurant manager. (Assault for threatening with the McMuffin, and battery for hitting the target.)
Authorities said Rodgers became angry after he and his son had stopped to get Egg McMuffins with ham, but instead received one with sausage. According to county prosecutor Craig Bunce, when the shift manager asked Rodgers to give the McMuffin back, he threw it at her through the service window, striking her in the head and leaving her "picking egg out of her hair."
It is unclear from the report as to whether or not Rodgers plea-bargained or fought the charges in court. He appears to have fought it out, because the report states that he was convicted, and also (and here's the good part) his attorney was defiant, with what may be the first great legal defense of 2005: the attorney said his client "did not throw the sandwich, but rather returned it quickly" (emphasis added).
"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, my client was simply doing what he had been asked to do -- return the sandwich. In fact, he went beyond what was asked of him, by returning it even more quickly than could have been expected. After 9/11, don't we need more quick action in this country, not less? I thank you."
Rodgers was fined $600, given three days in a work program and probation, and is banned from the McDonald's.
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