Joan Thompson: Woman stabs man with steak knife after beef over bill at Manhattan restaurant
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: A brawl took place at a Manhattan steakhouse after a woman stabbed a man in the back following a beef over a bill. A street fight ensued at the Ruth’s Chris Steak House on West 51st after a group of nine or 10 customers started to complain to the hostess about their check. “There was a misunderstanding about the bill. They were rowdy,” a source said, according to New York Post. The shocking incident took place as people dined on $68 ribeyes and $118 porterhouse meals.
The extremely loud and disturbing large group of people caught the attention of several people, including the suspect, Joan Thompson, 41, who was sitting with a woman at the restaurant at a table for two nearby. The fight started when someone at Thompson’s table allegedly passed a comment at the antics of the group. This prompted one of the partiers of the larger group to say some heated words, a source said.
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“She came to the table and said, ‘You look like s**t, the way you dress,’” the source said, according to New York Post. “The girls started fighting.” A man from the larger party jumped in and allegedly started throwing punches, and eventually landed many on Thompson’s younger dining partner, the worker recalled. “He punched the girl a few times,” the source said. “That’s why she reacted.”
Thomspon was described as a semi-regular customer of the steak house. During the brawl. She picked up a steak knife and allegedly stabbed the man in the back, police sources said. “It was like a brawl and she knifed him in the back,” the source recalled. “He did the punching first.”
Thompson and her dinner partner then fled on West 51st Street. Police said the Manhattanville woman also ditched her bill when she fled. She was arrested at 2 am on Saturday, December 5. The man who was attcked was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in stable condition. He was expected to survive. “Is this about the incident last night? I’m feeling great. I know you’re looking for a story, but I’m not going on air,” the man said, when asked about the brawl. Meanwhile, Thompson was due in Manhattan Criminal Court later Saturday on charges of assault and menacing.