Man breaks Big Mouth’s window injuring his arm

By Michael Logli

A unidentified man punched and shattered a window at roughly 12:00 a.m. Sunday morning at Big Mouth’s, 408 E. Green Street, after stealing money from the store’s tip jar.

Nate Lavorato, a Big Mouth’s employee, cashed out the customer and chased him down the street to make sure he would receive medical attention from paramedics after the man injured himself from the window.

Though initially friendly, Lavorato said the man quickly became furious when he received no change after paying for his meal, even though he paid by credit card. The man initially left a $3 tip in the tip jar, but when the argument escalated, he quickly reached into the jar and removed more than his original tip, Lavorato said.

The man then ran out of the store but before leaving, punched the door window. The door shattered and left the man with a severely injured arm, Lavorato said.

The store owner called police and an ambulance as the man walked away in what Lavorato said was a state of shock. He followed him out the door to stop him from leaving, and the man tried to punch him several times before police arrived.

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“I got blood all over my face from him trying to punch me,” Lavorato said.

The paramedics wrapped up his arm before police took the man away. The fire department also arrived to hose the blood and glass off the sidewalk, Lavorato said.

Big Mouth’s quickly replaced the door window with the help of a 24-hour locksmith, but the store decided to close for the rest of the night because of the amount of glass inside the store.

“I didn’t feel comfortable letting customers in with all that glass,” Lavorato said.