A man who pulled a gun on servers at a Central Florida beachside Taco Bell was sentenced to prison.
The man who threatened Taco Bell servers with a gun in Satellite Beach after one asked him to speed up his order has been sentenced to seven years in prison.
41-year-old Brian A. Bajana was convicted of aggravated assault with a firearm and possession of firearms by a convicted felon in a pair of cases brought by Brevard County prosecutors Nader Hatoum and Francis DeMuro.
One of the victims, a teenager working her first job, said she asked Bajana to pick up the pace with his drive-through order in June because other customers were backing up behind him. That’s when he brandished the handgun, warned workers not to rush him and said, “you don’t know who you’re messing with.” A 911 caller reported a customer circling the restaurant in his car, waving a handgun out the window.
At a sentencing hearing, Hatoum said the experience traumatized the restaurant staff.
“The mere fact of pointing a firearm at a 17-year-old girl … it scarred her for life,” Hatoum told Judge David Dugan.
With his four prior felony convictions, Bajana had no right to own or carry the three handguns police found in his home while executing a search warrant, Hatoum said.
Before hearing his sentence, Brian Bajana tearfully apologized to his victim (who was not present) and said he had no recollection of his behavior that day. His defense attorney said Bajana probably used drugs to “self-medicate” a mental health issue.
“I apologize to the victim, my family, and my friends,” he said. “I want to take accountability for my actions.”
RELATED: Central Florida Man Convicted for Threatening Taco Bell Servers with Gun
