Charges were dismissed against the white couple who drew a gun on a Black mother and her teen daughter in the parking lot of an Orion Township restaurant.
Eric and Jillian Wuestenberg were charged after the latter was caught on camera pointing the weapon during the altercation with the woman and her then-15-year-old daughter. The incident happened in July of 2020 in the parking lot of a Chipotle.
On Monday a judge dismissed the case without prejudice. Eric Wuestenberg, now 44, and Jillian Wuestenberg, now 34, had been charged with felonious assault, a 4-year felony.
The heated exchange appeared to stem from when the woman bumped into the mom’s daughter as they were entering the restaurant. After the mom asked the woman to apologize, the disagreement brewed into a shouting match before a firearm was drawn.
According to Bouchard, the argument is believed to have started after two people bumped into each other while one was walking out of a Chipotle.
“Apparently, what had happened – (there) was one common theme between both (stories) – the 3 headed inside Chipotle and one woman headed out with her food, there was a bump as they entered and exit,” he said.
Bouchard said someone felt they needed an apology and “it escalated from there.” He said it was unclear who the aggressors were.
The Wuestenbergs said they felt threatened as the altercation escalated.
“They were blocking the entrance to the car, I had a railing behind me,” she said. “I was trapped, I couldn’t go anywhere. I was being yelled at, berated, called a racist and ignorant and I was trapped.”
Eric says got out helping his wife get in the car. They said amid the back and forth, they tried to back up and leave – but the car’s automatic braking system suddenly stopped – at least one of the women was banging on the car. Jillian says she was in fear for their lives.
“At that point I realized we’re not going home tonight, we’re not going to see another day, and the only thing I can do is protect myself and I draw my firearm,” she said.
The Wuestenbergs said they already paid a steep price following the incident.
Eric Wuestenberg, a disabled veteran, lost his job at Oakland University as coordinator for Veteran Support Services, while Jillian said she had lost her job at Hallmark.
They also said they had received numerous death threats and threatening text messages.
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Criminal charges have been dropped against a white couple charged in 2020 after one of them was captured on video pulling a handgun on a Black woman and her daughters outside a Michigan restaurant.
The trial had been set to start Monday for Eric Wuestenberg and Jillian Wuestenberg, but Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Mary Ellen Brennan dismissed the case after the alleged victims did not show up to provide witness testimony, The Oakland Press reported.
The Wuestenbergs were each charged with one count of felonious assault for the July 1, 2020, incident in the parking lot of a Chipotle restaurant in Orion Township, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Detroit.
David Williams, Oakland County’s chief assistant prosecutor, noted that the charges were dismissed Monday without prejudice, “meaning that our office can reissue charges in this matter if and when those witnesses become available.” He declined further comment.
Takelia Hill, who is Black, told The Detroit News in 2020 that the incident happened after a white woman later identified as Jillian Wuestenberg bumped into Hill’s teenage daughter as they were entering the restaurant and Wuestenberg was leaving with a carry-out order.
The Oakland Press reported that the Pontiac woman was visiting the restaurant with two daughters when the incident began. A three-minute cellphone video posted online documents part of the ensuing confrontation in the restaurant’s parking lot.
Jillian Wuestenberg can be seen outside her vehicle shouting, “Get the (expletive) away! Get away!” while pointing a handgun at the person who’s recording. She eventually gets back into her vehicle, which her husband drives away.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said both parties called police on each other and that the Wuestenbergs drove away and waited for deputies to arrive. The couple was arrested shortly afterward.
Following his arrest, Eric Wuestenberg lost his job at Oakland University where he was coordinator of veterans support services. His attorney, Dean Greenblatt, said the Wuestenbergs have lived “with clouds over their head for three years.”
“Nothing can bring their jobs back, their lives back, their reputations back,” Greenblatt said.
Jillian Wuestenberg’s attorney, Terry Johnson, said the dismissal of the charges was long overdue.
“On behalf of my client, we’re excited it only took 32 months for the Oakland County Prosecutor to finally drop the charges. My client’s life, unfortunately, will never be the same,” Johnson said.
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