Alleged Coffee Thrower Turns Himself In: Cops

The man accused of throwing hot coffee on a donut shop employee turned himself in today, according to police.

The man accused of throwing coffee on a Donut shop worker turned himself in on Monday, according to police.

Investigators say David Timbers, 52, of the 3700 block of Haverford Avenue, is the man seen in surveillance video throwing hot coffee on an employee at a Fresh Donuts shop in Philadelphia.

On the video released by police [SEE BELOW], you hear the man arguing with the woman behind the counter over his food order. She wants him to pay but he claims he already paid. During the argument, he reaches over the counter, grabs the hot coffee out of her hand, throws it on her and says, "Take that!" You can hear her screaming on the surveillance video. ** WARNING ** There is some graphic language used in the video.

This happened on Tuesday, around 11:05 a.m. Workers at the donut shop told NBC10's Doug Shimell that the angry customer as well as the other man he was with, are regular customers.

The victim, who is 27 and from Cambodia, spoke off-camera to NBC10's Doug Shimell. She is back at work, but says she is in a lot of pain. Her left arm is bandaged.

Police tell NBC10 Timbers turned himself in Monday and is currently in custody. Timbers' sister, Casey Timbers, spoke exclusively to NBC10 about her brother's arrest.

"He's upset, he was actually, literally, crying after this incident occurred, saying he couldn't believe what he did,' said Casey.

After video of the inciden aired on NBC10, Casey claims she contacted her brother and told him to turn himself in.

"He was scared to come forward of course without an attorney present," she said. "He said, 'I really screwed up, I was upset.' He was upset about things. He hadn't been taking his medication."

Timbers tells NBC10 her brother suffers from a post-traumatic stress disorder and had heart surgery less than a year ago. While she’s unsure if any of that played a role in her brother’s actions, she claims the man in the video is not the loving father and grandfather she knows. Timbers also says she feels terrible for the victim and hopes she recovers soon.

“I can only say that I apologize for my brother and relay the message that he is very sorry.”

David Timbers is awaiting an arraignment overnight and is facing several charges, including aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.


Fan, follow and download: Get the latest from NBCPhiladelphia.com anytime, anywhere. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and NBC Philadelphia. Sign up for our breaking news newsletter. And, get breaking news delivered right to your mobile phone -- just text PHIBREAKING to 639710 to sign up. (Message and data rates may apply.)

Contact Us