He told delivery driver he was Jesus and to bring the food inside. Then he attacked, police say
A driver for the on-demand restaurant delivery service DoorDash said she was grateful to get away unharmed after a customer allegedly attacked her when she dropped off his food, according to WSB-TV.
The DoorDash service allows customers to order from restaurants remotely, either online or through an app. The service then sends contractors to pick up the food from the restaurants and deliver it directly to customers.
Sonya King told WSB-TV she was working as a DoorDash driver and came to South Grand Avenue in Atlanta to drop off an order.
The man told her to come inside and put the food on the counter, then repeatedly asked her whether she wanted a $5 tip, according to WXIA. As he was going through his wallet for a tip, King told WSB-TV, he said to her, "Oh and by the way I'm Jesus.'"
As she turned to leave, police say, the man suddenly grabbed her religious head scarf, causing her to lose balance and scrape her hand, according to WXIA. After he allegedly tried to grab her neck, King stabbed him repeatedly with her keys before escaping and calling police, the station reported.
"He thought he was Jesus, but Jesus wouldn't do that to nobody," King told WSB-TV. "In the midst of me stabbing this man, he's saying, 'Aw this feels good.' "
When police came to the man's apartment, they found the door barricaded by a couch, WXIA reported. When they removed the blockage, officers found 54-year-old Rick Painter naked in a bed and covered with bruises, according to the station.
Painter was arrested and charged with battery and given a $5,000 bond, according to jail records. He has spent time in jail before for accusations of assault, battery and reckless conduct.
In a statement, DoorDash told WSB-TV it "takes the safety of its community extremely seriously for Dashers, consumers, and merchants" and that it had deactivated Painter's account.
As more and more people take jobs in the rapidly expanding "gig economy" of contract jobs offered by companies like DoorDash, Uber and Airbnb, so, too, are more of those workers facing harassment or even violence.
A report from The Guardian profiled several women, including one who reportedly worked for DoorDash, who said they had been sexually harassed while on the job. Wired reported in 2016 that Uber's forums brimmed with tales of drivers being assaulted or berated by passengers. One Uber driver was allegedly assaulted with a thorny rose after telling her passengers not to slam the door, according to CBS Los Angeles, and a delivery driver for GrubHub, which is similar to DoorDash, was slashed with a knife while delivering chicken wings in Illinois, Patch reported.
This story was originally published May 9, 2018 at 10:50 AM with the headline "He told delivery driver he was Jesus and to bring the food inside. Then he attacked, police say."