When your job title is justice of the peace, certain expectations tend to follow. Mainly, that you’ll be committed to justice and keep the peace. But it appears even a justice of the peace is not above getting involved in an altercation at Whataburger.
On Sunday at a Whataburger in Graham, Texas, Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 Jason Hearne allegedly got into a fight with a teen around 1 a.m., with both exchanging punches.
It all began with a seemingly harmless picture. Social media influencer Danny Duncan and his film crew were at the Whataburger, and a couple of teenage fans asked to take a picture with him. Duncan obliged, but according to a witness, the Young County judge seemed to take issue with two men taking a picture together.
“He started talking about, if it’s cool to take pictures with another dude, basically calling us gay and stuff,” one of the teens told KFDX/KJTL.
That’s when the shenanigans moved outside into the parking lot and escalated. According to the witness, the argument continued, at which point the justice of the peace punched the teen, with the teenager returning blows in kind.
The witness said that the teenager “turned around to look at him, talk to him, and he [Hearne] just punched him in his face.”
Numerous videos of the event are circulating online, though surprisingly, there doesn’t appear to be one from influencer Duncan at the moment.
“Come on, let’s go big boy,” one of the parties involved appears to say in the video. “I don’t give a f–k who you are.”
No immediate comments have been made by Hearne or the teenager. But District Judge Coordinator Terri Rhodes gave a statement on behalf of the district to KFDX/KJTL, saying that “At this time, [District Judge Phillip Gregory] indicates that he is aware of the circumstances and believes the matter to be under an active investigation.”
Whataburger has been the scene for a few incidents lately, including Whataburger employees defending themselves from an attacker with a fry basket, and one drive-thru customer getting allegedly bear-sprayed by another.
And just last week, a drunk driver was arrested for running over a manager’s foot in the drive-thru at the Bryan, Texas, Whataburger. Many of the aforementioned events seem to be occurring late into the night on Sundays. Perhaps the Sunday night blues are raising tensions at Whataburger.
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This article originally published at Teens and judge exchange blows at Texas Whataburger.