photo courtesy of Fox 6
Two Milwaukee twin sisters have been found to be involved in shooting a Wauwatosa George Webb employee over a mistake made over a hamburger. One of the sisters, Bryanna Johnson, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and five years of extended supervision on March 16 while the other is still awaiting charges.
Bryanna apologized for shooting Anthony Rodriguez, the George Webb employee. She pled guilty to first-degree reckless injury and use of a dangerous weapon for her involvement in what was initially treated as an attempted homicide.
As mentioned earlier, the shooting occurred in January of last year at the George Webb restaurant located at 122nd and North. Witnesses reported that a group of women eating there “were impatient and rude,” and that they began arguing with Rodriguez because their food was not getting served fast enough.” The altercation moved up to the cash register when Breanta – Bryanna’s sister – punched Rodriguez and then went out to her truck and retrieved her gun. She said that she could “not remember who or how the gun was taken from her during the altercation, stating she ‘blacked out’ at that point during the fight,”
Footage from inside the restaurant showed that Rodriguez was shot, and when he fell to the ground, Breanta kicked him in the face. Bryanna was reportedly handed the gun during the altercation but alleged that she didn’t intend to fire it.
During court, Bryanna apologized to Rodriguez, 26. “I am very sorry for the pain I have caused,” She said after a video of the attack was played. Her defense attorney described the incident as a “horrible, traumatic accident,”
“I hope one day I am able to redeem myself,” Bryanna said.
Rodriguez spoke to Fox 6 about the attack following the trial and added that he appreciated her apology. “It pretty much knocked out all of my right teeth,” He recalled being the only waiter on duty at the time. After the women ordered burgers, there was an an issue with payment: “They said they weren’t going to pay, and I said, ‘OK. I’m going to take your food since you’re not paying for it,’ so I took it and threw it away.” That led to the fight breaking out.
“I was getting punched in the head by one of (them)…and then they tried to body slam me, and as soon as I got slammed on the ground, I heard a bang. That’s when I got shot. It scares the hell out of me how people can get so quick to anger. You never know what people are willing to do for just the smallest things,” Rodriguez said. Despite what she did, he said that he felt sorry for Bryanna. “I do feel for her. I really do.” He said that the sentence passed to her was fair though, “It’s a step toward the healing process,”
“I’m just lucky to be alive, and I’m so grateful I can move around and see my family. It gives me a fresh perspective. We’ve got to find ways to compromise and be more peaceful, and sometimes, that means just saying, ‘I got to walk away.'”
Since the shooting, George Webb’s management and community came together to create a GoFundMe for Rodriguez. It has surpassed its $75,000 goal. The description of the fundraiser talked a little bit about the employee’s road to recovery. It reads, “Anthony was rushed to the hospital, where the staff worked hard to stabilize him and ultimately saved his life. Anthony is a hard worker, just doing what he can to support his 3 year old son. He doesn’t have insurance and the recovery is sure to be long and expensive. Every dollar will go directly to Anthony to assist with a long and arduous recovery where he will have no income coming in. Every dollar and every prayer is appreciated.”