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The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Second McDonald's Beating Victim Has Criminal History

By Andrea Swalec | November 29, 2011 4:33pm

MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT — A woman who was videotaped being beaten by a McDonald's cook after she vaulted over the counter to allegedly attack him last month stole $350 while she worked the cash register at a Harlem H&M last year, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Denise Darbeau, 24, of Queens, who pleaded not guilty Tuesday to misdemeanor criminal trespass after the fight with McDonald's cook Rayon McIntosh inside 136 W. Third St. on Oct. 13, ran a scam while working at the Harlem outpost of H&M in which she scanned items for customers and pocketed the cash, according to court documents.

Darbeau, who went by Myika Darbeau in the 2010 criminal complaint, was charged with petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property after allegedly stealing $350 in cash from the 125th Street store's registers on Sept. 3, 2010, according to court records. She allegedly rang up customers' clothes and accessories, canceled them out, and pocketed the cash instead of putting it into the register, prosecutors said.

She was sentenced to four days of community service, which she served, and was ordered to pay $350 in restitution, which she has only partially paid, Assistant District Attorney Jamie Mendoza said.

A judge ordered Darbeau on Tuesday to pay additional restitution for the H&M theft before her next court date on Dec. 8.

Darbeau, who was accompanied by her parents, did not speak at the court appearance. A long scar was visible on the left side of her head, where she received 20 staples following the McDonald's incident, her father told DNAinfo last month.

Darbeau's friend Rachel Edwards, 24, was also charged with misdemeanor trespass during the incident at McDonald's.

Edwards, who received a deep cut on her arm during the McDonald's attack, also has a criminal record. She faces misdemeanor harassment and aggravated harassment charges for allegedly making multiple offensive calls and sending text messages to her first cousin, according to sources and court records obtained by DNAinfo.

Darbeau and Edwards were charged with misdemeanor criminal trespass and released with a desk appearance ticket, while McIntosh, 31, was ordered held on $40,000 bail for felony assault charges.

Darbeau would have to waive immunity from incriminating herself if she testifies before a grand jury in the case against McIntosh, Mendoza said.

"The grand jury might be asked to consider additional charges" if Darbeau decides to testify, Mendoza added.

McDonald's cashier Michael Joseph, 18, said in a court hearing on Oct. 18 that Edwards and Darbeau  provoked the attack inside the fast-food eatery by verbally abusing the restaurant's workers.

People from all over the country have rallied behind McIntosh, describing his actions as self-defense and donating to a fund to raise the bail money needed to spring the Bronx resident from Rikers Island.

Darbeau's lawyer, Harold Baker, did not respond to an inquiry about whether Darbeau will ultimately choose to testify against McIntosh.