Burrito Bandit: Taco Bell Price Hike Leads to Police Shootout

By Stephanie Rabiner, Esq. on March 22, 2011 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Forget about the Twinkie defense--there's a new junk food defense in town. Its name? The Taco Bell burrito.

When a San Antonio man ordered seven Beefy Crunch Burritos, he expected them to cost 99 cents apiece. But when he realized the Taco Bell burrito price had been raised to a whopping $1.49, all hell broke loose.

He shot the place up.

After the shock of an extra $3.50 wore off, the Taco Bell Burrito Bandit entered the establishment to speak to the manager, details the San Antonio Express-News. Annoyed by the explanation, he raised his air gun and shot.

It gets better. Employees report seeing the Burrito Bandit pulling both an assault rifle and a handgun from the roof of his car. He shot those weapons at recently-arrived police, and then fled on foot to his hotel room.

Turns out all of his weapons were air-powered and not actual firearms, reports the San Antonio Express-News.

At first, our intrepid Burrito Bandit was to be charged with attempted murder, but the paper reports that charges have been downgraded to aggravated assault against a public servant.

You may be asking yourself how he can be charged with aggravated assault when the guns were fake. Aggravated assault is merely a threat or attempt to harm a person with attached special circumstances. In this case, it is likely with a deadly weapon. Even though the guns were not firearms, if used correctly, air guns can cause life-threatening injury.

Before you get any ideas, the likelihood of the Taco Bell burrito defense working its magic is nil. $3.50 is simply not an excuse to attack fast food employees. It is, however, a reason to go eat something real.

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