BLOOMINGTON — An 18-year-old is in jail nearly a month after getting into a fight and pulling a gun on employees at a Bloomington Taco Bell in August, according to new court documents.
Phillip Hicks was arrested Sept. 4 and charged with theft of a firearm and intimidation, both Level 5 felonies, and criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, a Level 6 felony.
According to court documents, Bloomington police responded to the West Third Street Taco Bell around 9:30 p.m. Aug. 16 after employees reported two men were fighting inside and one of them had a gun. When police arrived, the men had left in a car.
After speaking with employees, investigators learned one of the men had punched a worker in the head. When a manager arrived, police looked at surveillance footage and were able to identify the two men.
One of the men was seen punching the employee. The other, identified as Hicks, was seen pulling out a black and silver handgun and waiving it towards the workers, pointing it at them. Both men are then seen running from the restaurant.
Police did not find Hicks until an officer was patrolling the area near West Tapp Road and Interstate 69 on Sept. 4. The officer ran the license plate of a vehicle, and the registered owner came back to Hicks, who the officer reported knowing was wanted for the August altercation at Taco Bell.
When the driver of the car did not use a turn signal to change lanes, the officer conducted a traffic stop and noticed Hicks was the driver. While waiting for another officer, Hicks told police he had a gun but was not going to reach for it.
The officer had Hicks step out of the vehicle and the gun was removed. According to court documents, the serial number on the handgun matched a stolen gun reported to police.
He was taken to the jail where he is awaiting a bail review hearing on Sept. 24. The other man in the case has an active warrant for misdemeanor battery.
