A 24-year-old Cerritos man who allegedly drove over an Anaheim-area restaurant server after he and three female friends skipped out on their bill was charged Tuesday.
Rowshaid Cordell Pellum was charged with one felony count each of aggravated assault and hit-and-run with injury, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Pellum was allegedly the driver in a Sunday evening incident that prompted waitress Maria Uriostegui to chase after him and three friends when they failed to pay their tab at Mexico Lindo restaurant in an unincorporated area near Anaheim.
Surveillance video of the incident showed Uriostegui running into a parking lot after the foursome when the vehicle rolled right over her and did not stop.
Uriostegui on Monday called it a “miracle” she walked away with minor injuries.
When she tried to get the patrons to stop and pay their bill, they laughed and walked out, she said. Uriostegui said she went out a second time to see the car’s license plate number when she was hit.
“We made eye contact, and they laughed it off and then they just drove. At that point and I knew they weren’t going to stop so I tried to move out of the way,” Uriostegui said. “By then it was too late.”
Hours after the dine-and-dash, investigators spotted the vehicle the foursome was believed to have been traveling in, a black Volkswagen Jetta, outside a Motel 6 near Katella and Western avenues. Four people were arrested.
Pellum faces the most serious charges and could be sentenced to up to four years and eight months in prison if convicted. Prosecutors planned to ask that his bail be set at $50,000 during a Tuesday court hearing.
Santeea Munay Ralph, 23, Shyteice Lashay Miles, 19, and Markeisha Michelle Williams, 18, all of Long Beach, were each charged with one misdemeanor count of defrauding an innkeeper.
Ralph, who faces up to six months in jail, was set to be arraigned alongside Pellum on Tuesday in Santa Ana.
Miles and Williams were out of custody by Tuesday and were expected to be arraigned at a later date.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the waitress ran into the street; in fact, she ran into a parking lot. The gender of one of the suspects was also described incorrectly. The story has been updated.