An employee misunderstanding at a Taco Bell in Tennessee spiraled out of control, and police had to be called in over an iPad. Malayla Henderson, 19, was arrested on an aggravated assault charge on July 19 after the Memphis Police Department responded to reports of an “armed person” at a local Taco Bell the previous day.
According to People, Henderson allegedly threw boiling water at a co-worker. The conflict started when her co-worker came into the restaurant on his day off. Henderson later said, “He kept coming into my personal space; I kept telling him, ‘Can you get back?’”
The victim’s identity was not initially released by authorities, but according to his account of the incident, the two were just having “playful banter.” The man told police that Henderson playfully snatched a second T-shirt he was carrying, and he responded by taking her iPad, which was sitting near the cash register.
He thought they were just having a playful interaction
According to authorities, from that point on, both parties understood that the games they had been playing were no longer mutual. The Memphis Police Department said, “The victim then proceeded to place the iPad near a trash can inside of the business. Henderson became upset with the victim and told him that she was going to burn him with hot water.”
Reportedly, Henderson then went into the kitchen, retrieved a pot of boiling water, and splashed it on the male colleague as he sat in the restaurant lobby. Henderson said the interaction was never “playful” from her perspective. Instead, she said she had been losing her patience with him and that the iPad incident was the last straw.
“Before you know it, I had blanked out after asking him many times to give me my iPad, right?” Henderson continued. “Before you know it, once I blanked out, I was just pouring water on him.”
Later, Action News 5 identified the victim as Chris Jones and reported that the dispute between the two stemmed from unrequited romantic feelings.
Jones said, “She just plays around with it, you know, like when somebody says they’re gonna beat you up… you feel me? She plays around with it. I didn’t think she was serious at first.”
She said he was inappropriate
However, Henderson said things had been changing between them for quite some time. She said, “We used to be friends. We used to be close friends, but Chris just started liking me and started saying weird, inappropriate things to me that I did not like.”
Jones reportedly suffered second-degree burns across his stomach, groin, thighs, and both arms. He was immediately taken to the Regional One Hospital burn unit in Memphis, where he underwent emergency treatment. He said, “The skin came off… it’s red, and it’s gonna take a little time for it to heal.” Jones continued, “She threw boiling hot water on somebody; you have to have punishable actions no matter if you blacked out or not.”
Henderson was released on July 22 after posting a $5,000 bond. She is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 27.
Published: Jul 24, 2026 02:10 pm