INDUSTRY - An altercation be - tween a customer and employees of Lindemann's store in Industry escalated over the customer finding a $50 bill on the floor. The Jan. 16 incident resulted in what appeared to be two people going to jail after a lock-in, chokehold and physi-
cal contact. The big question on people's minds is, were the right people put in jail?
At 7 p.m. on Jan. 16, Betty Smith, 65, went to Lindemann's to get something to snack on and found a $50 bill on the floor. According to reports, a female clerk said she needed to give it to her because it may belong to a friend. When Smith tried to leave, a female clerk tried to snatch it out of her hand while two other employees held her against her will. The store was locked to prevent her from leaving while an Austin County deputy responded to the disturbance.
According to police reports, the deputies investigated and made arrests. A granddaughter and daughter of Smith apparently assaulted a store employee.
None of the store employees were arrest ed for the handling of Smith. Smith is black and the store employees are white.
A press conference issued by Austin County District Attorney Travis Koehn stated, “The Austin County District At- torney's Office has received offense re - ports, witness statements and extensive video evidence from the Austin County Sheriff's Office investigation concern - ing the Jan. 16 incident at Lindemann Store.”
He further stated, “The District Attor- ney's Office is carefully reviewing this matter as we do with all investigations forwarded by law enforcement. This re mains an ongoing investigation. The of- fice will continue to request and review any additional evidence that may be released to charging decisions in this inci- dent." Koehn said he will issue a press release to notify the public regarding the outcome.
Quanell X, accompanied by what appeared to be Black Panthers, spoke at the Austin County Courthouse and questioned whether the outcome would be the same if the color were reversed. The employees have been fired from their jobs and a formal apology has been given by Lindemann's Store to Smith.
