A pair of heroic Starbucks baristas who risked their lives to save the company’s hard-earned money have been fired more than a month after reportedly foiling an armed robbery. The Riverfront Times reported both the initial robbery attempt and news of the employees’ terminations.
Authorities allege that just before 3 p.m. on December 17, Joshua Noeand and Marquise Porter-Doyle entered the Starbucks location at 212 South Grand Boulevard in St. Louis, MO. Armed with firearms, they commanded the seven employees, including Michael Harris and Devin Jones-Ransom, and a single customer to lay down on the floor and surrender their possessions.
The two men allegedly told employees to open the cash register and safe, but the workers were unable to do so. Noe became enraged, striking Harris on the head with his pistol. But the gun cracked, signaling to the victims the weapons were toys.
Harris, Jones-Ransom, and the patron then began to fight back. During this melee, Noe and Porter-Doyle are both alleged to have punched one of the victims in the face. They were eventually able to restrain Noe until authorities arrived. Porter-Doyle fled the scene, but was caught a short time later.
Despite their good deed, Harris and Jones-Ransom were summarily fired by Starbucks. Adding salt to the wound, the company reportedly didn’t give either men specifics about why the decision was made.
“I can say that my client was not given a specific policy reason for the termination,” Ryan Krupp, the attorney representing Harris, told Men’s Journal. He noted that this was particularly insulting “especially in light of the fact that he was assaulted by one of the gunmen in the process of attempting to comply.”
In a statement to Men's Journal, a Starbucks spokesperson elaborated on the decision behind the employees' terminations. "The safety and well-being of our partners (employees) and customers is always our first concern. All partners are expected to follow our carefully crafted protocols to ensure the safety of customers and partners during these situations."
The spokesperson further elaborated that "all partners go through de-escalation training," which "includes armed robbery scenarios where partners are asked to comply with demands, and to avoid doing or saying anything that can escalate the situation."
"Harris complied with the robbers' demands until it was no longer an option for himself and others," Krupp told Riverfront Times. The attorney later told Men’s Journal: “He realized he was at a stage which meant that he either needed to intervene or risk himself or others being killed.”
Krupp decried Starbucks for milking the incident for all of the positive publicity it was worth in the weeks after, before suddenly terminating Harris with a phone call.
“The corporation received great headlines commending the employees' bravery and prominently displaying their logo,” Krupp told us. “About a month later, Starbucks corporate called and fired Mr. Harris over the phone.”
He concluded: “We are looking for justice in this matter and will be taking legal action. Nobody should be terminated for doing the right thing.”
Noe and Porter-Doyle are currently being held without bond. Noe is facing 11 felony charges in total, while Porter-Doyle is facing 10.
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