RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — An owner of a Richmond gas station and convenience store is speaking out after a man was caught on surveillance video trashing his business.
Zahid Hussain, owner of BP gas station and convenience store, said the man — Quentin Tyron Lewis — walked into his business on Wednesday night and began snatching food off the shelves.
Video also showed him throwing glass bottles at the counter and knocking over the shelves.
After a few minutes went by, Lewis takes off. The cashier then called 9-1-1 and alerted Hussain.
“My cashier keeps telling me that, ‘This guy is going to kill me. This guy is going to kill me.’ Everything was trashed. Everything was like… It was really crazy, mess. We weren’t even able to walk through the thing,” Hussain said.
Police arrived at the store minutes later, and while they were there, Lewis came back to continue the tirade.
But this time, Hussain said, he was wielding a crow bar.
Officers tried to apprehend Lewis. They ended up tasing him, but video shows the man pulling the prongs from the taser off of his body.
Police were eventually able to subdue Lewis and take him into custody.
“It was frustrating. It was a really traumatized thing,” Hussain said.
Hussain claims a similar incident happened here before and police’s response times were delayed in both instances.
Now that Hussain is stuck with more than $100,000 in damages, he says doesn’t know if he wants to stay open.
“I’m thinking to just shut down. Just chill out and just go somewhere. I’m not feeling protected. I’m not feeling safe,” Hussain said.
Lewis has been charged with four counts, including destruction of property, assault and battery and disorderly conduct.
According to jail records, he’s due in court on Jan. 29, 2024.
Hussain said he doesn’t know if Lewis is connected to the previous incident, but he’s hoping he will at least be held responsible for this latest one.
