A Nashville Taco Bell employee is behind bars after she and her coworkers set off fireworks inside the restaurant and nearly burned it down, causing $30,000 in damage.
Courtney Mayes, 25, has been charged with felony aggravated arson in connection with the incident, which occurred on July 5th, according to Nashville police. Although other employees participated in playing with the fireworks, police say Mayes was the shift leader and instigator. Investigators initially thought the fire was accidental until they reviewed security camera footage, according to the Nashville Fire Department. “The employees can be seen locking the doors to the dining room to keep customers from entering the business,” reads a statement released by the fire department. "The video then shows the employees running around the inside of the store with fireworks in their hands.”
The mischievous employees might have gotten away with it, too -- had they not accidentally locked themselves out of the restaurant. “Employees are seen using their cell phone cameras to record a [burning] trash can from the outside of the restaurant,” the fire department reports. “Employees then realized they locked themselves out of the restaurant."
photo: getty images