A 20-year-old McDonald's shift manager named Jacob Smith is in a Sacramento-area hospital recovering from third-degree burns to his face, neck, hands, shoulder and upper body after a coworker allegedly threw hot cooking oil from a commercial fryer at him during the closing shift at a Yuba City, California location on May 30.
His burns cover approximately 22 percent of his body. He needs multiple skin graft surgeries. He is expected to survive.
Jacob was in the office counting the money at the end of the night, his mother Amber Smith told reporters. "He was in the office getting ready to count the money when he saw out of the corner of his eye something, and he turned, and the oil was just thrown on him."
Two people were working when it happened, Jacob and the suspect. A third employee was washing dishes in another part of the restaurant.
Yuba City Police responded to a call reporting someone "burned by a hot liquid" at 11:15 PM. They arrived to find Jacob with severe burns across his face, neck, hands, shoulder and upper body and transported him to a hospital in Sacramento County.
The liquid was later confirmed to be hot cooking oil from a commercial fryer, which can reach temperatures above 350 degrees Fahrenheit and causes damage that is significantly worse than hot water because the oil clings to skin.
Despite the severity of what happened, Jacob wrote on the GoFundMe his mother set up that he "thanks God for saving my eye." He told supporters, "As much as I want to be angry, or want to hate people and be scared of people, it's just so hard to be when I have so many people showing their love for me."
The Suspect And The Charges
Jalani Jermaine Bluett, 23, of Yuba City, fled the restaurant before officers arrived on May 30.
The following day, the Sutter County Sheriff's Office issued a missing person alert for Bluett, noting he was "considered at risk due to a diagnosis and vulnerabilities," the specific nature of which was not disclosed. Deputies spotted Bluett walking near Highway 99 and arrested him on May 31.
He was arraigned in Sutter County Superior Court and pleaded not guilty to three felony counts, mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon and battery causing serious bodily injury. He is being held without bail.
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled at which prosecutors will present testimony and evidence for the court to decide whether the case proceeds to trial.
No motive has been publicly disclosed. Police say it remains unclear. Bluett's public defender did not respond to requests for comment.