FREE Rayon McIntosh Before Christmas Day!
(December 25th, 2011)
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November 30, 2011
Dear Friends and Supporters:
On October 12, 2011, Rayon McIntosh’s life took an unexpected turn that launched him into the national spotlight and I fear may undo his efforts to start a new life raising his 11 year old daughter after spending much of his youth in prison (11 years).
The confrontation on October 12, 2011 started based on eyewitness testimony when Denise Darbeau and Rachel Edwards, both 24, walked into the East Village McDonald's under the influence of alcohol. In addition, Denise Darbeau and Rachel Edwards did not enter McDonald's alone but was in the company of two young men. After placing their order, Rachel Edwards paid their check with a $50 bill. Denise Darbeau got upset when a staff member checked to see if the bill was real, as required by McDonald's corporate policy. It appeared to Denise Darbeau that her girlfriends' honor, Rachel Edwards was being questioned by having the $50 billed checked. In appeared that in Denise Darbeau mind, her girlfriend, Rachel Edwards was being disrespected and thus Denise Darbeau believed she needed to step up in some way to fight for her girlfriends' honor. Please understand that at no time before or after did my son or any other staff member comment on the sexual orientation of either Denise Darbeau or Rachel Edwards. My son is very respectful of people being who they are and at no time did he call those two young ladies, a lesbian this or a lesbian that.
In a way, I understand the need to step up to defend someone who cares about you as my husband has done for me many times over the years. I wake up each morning next to my husband knowing that God has blessed me with a man who loves me and will protect my honor. I just do not believe that Denise Darbeau in trying to defend her girlfriend's honor, Rachel Edwards did so in the right way. Denise Darbeau yelled at those staff members at the counter which included my son, who just arrived from the back with their order. Denise Darbeau stated: Oh, you think my shit is fake? Denise Darbeau told my son that his mother was a whore. She than added, Suck my dick. Denise Darbeau threatened to cut Rayon McIntosh. Denise Darbeau was very aggressive, loud and strong in making sure people knew that she was defending her girlfriend, Rachel Edwards. Denise Darbeau publicly flexed in a way that ensured that all knew she was very angry, pacing back in forth as if pondering her next line of attack. Then Denise Darbeau escalated the drama by spitting on Rayon McIntosh. My son was shocked that a young lady would act in such a manner. What kind of lady would spit on someone just because they were unhappy with staff at a McDonald's following corporate policy to check all bills over $20?
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As you can see from the above youtube.com video, Rayon McIntosh and his fellow staff members were being verbally abused by Denise Darbeau and Rachel Edwards. After NOT being satisfied with just taunting my son and his fellow staff members with foul language and verbal threats, Denise Darbeau spit on Rayon McIntosh and then only a few seconds later reached across the counter and slapped him dead center in his face. Next, Denise Darbeau jumped over the counter to continue her unwarranted physical attack on my son by chasing after him. Rayon McIntosh fearing for his life, knowing that there was no security guard on duty and not knowing if in fact, Denise Darbeau plans to carry out her threat to cut him with some sort of blade or if she had a gun to shoot him and others in a mass murder incident - remember these young ladies enter the restaurant under the influence of alcohol and in the company of two young men (sadly, as has been the case for some years now, gun fire in fast food restaurants in our nation's urban centers have become common occurrences - especial among those inner-city youth who are members of violent street gangs), quickly retreated to the back of the restaurant to formulate a plan to defend himself. Furthermore, Rayon McIntosh did not know if the two men that enter McDonald's with Denise Darbeau and Rachel Edwards planned on joining in on attacking him.
Not one of my son's fellow employees or a manager stepped in to stop Denise Darbeau from attacking my son. At which point, Denise Darbeaus' friend, Rachel Edwards walked around the counter to join in her efforts to continue attacking my son. My son, Rayon McIntosh fled to the back of the restaurant and only re-emerges to ward off both his attackers with a small cooking utensil which he used to the keep his attackers subdued until the police arrived to arrest Denise Darbeau and Rachel Edwards and to end the threat to his personal safety. In fact you can hear my son in the video pleading with Rachel Edwards to stay down but she kept trying to stand up (which my son interpreted as an attempt to do him harm). NOTE: initial eyewitness testimony indicate that the two men that Denise Darbeau and Rachel Edwards entered McDonald's with did not participate in attacking Rayon McIntosh.
Eleven years ago, Rayon McIntosh who was 19 years old at the time was sentenced to serve 11 years in state prison after a tragic mistake (http://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/05/nyregion/man-is-charged-in-mall-slaying-of-schoolmate.html) that resulted in the death of a friend and classmate. Rayon McIntosh along with a group of friends (the deceased included) drove to the Galleria Mall (in Westchester, New York) where they tried to scare off another group of kids (twice the size of their group and older who were trying to start a fight) by showing off their one gun. What transpired from there was a tragic accident. The gun accidentally went off, killing one of the kids in their group (a shot to the stomach). Rayon McIntosh took responsibility for his actions and paid his court ascribed debt to society. Now you may ask. Who is Rayon McIntosh? What happened in his young life that led to him being involved in the shooting death of a friend?
Rayon McIntosh migrated to the United States approximately 15 years ago from the island of Jamaica. His upbringing, like most Caribbean children whose parents migrated ahead of them was typical in that he was raised by his grandmother. When he migrated to United States along with his sisters, everything was new, nonchalant and promising. However, when Rayon McIntosh started to attend Evander Child's High School, in the Bronx, he quickly fell in with the wrong crowd. At that time, I was raising Rayon McIntosh as a single mother with his sisters. Rayon McIntosh was a happy, know it all teenager who wanted to grow up too fast. Rayon McIntosh failed to heed the values that I lived by of personal responsibility and honest work. Today, Rayon McIntosh is a very much changed man, a man driven to rebuild his life from scratch. Rayon McIntosh is a man who does not drink or smoke and attends church (well whenever I ask him to join me).
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This was a tragedy and a shock for my family because we did not know Rayon associated with people who had access to a gun. As a registered nurse and divorcee I worked hard to help ensure that all of my children had a chance to become successful, and that included going to college. Rayon McIntosh is the only one of six of my kids (five daughters and one son) who never attended college because of obvious reasons. However, I am sure working the late shift at a McDonald’s that did NOT have a security guard on duty wasn’t his dream job. But he knew he had to start somewhere after serving over a decade in prison and getting a handout wasn’t his way.
Rayon McIntosh took the job because he has a daughter to support and after missing 11 years of her life he wanted to make up for it the best way he knew how and having a job albeit at McDonald’s allowed him to do so legitimately. He began working less than 2 months after being released from prison because he was eager to become a productive member of society and to earn his family's respect. However all that changed on the night of October 12, 2011. What he wanted to avoid that night was trouble and the ill of his past mistakes. Now this incident threatens to turn his life upside down and send him back into the prison industry complex.
My son, Rayon McIntosh who is locked up in Rikers Island (the citywide jail for New York City's five boroughs) - unable to see or financially support his 11 year old daughter - just cannot believe that the police arrested him and that the Manhattan District Attorney's Office charged him with two counts of felony assault or that a judge required $40,000 cash bail with no bond (which means that we cannot use a bail bondsmen with 10% down to secure his release).
If convicted my son, Rayon McIntosh could be sentence to more than five years in jail. On the other hand, the two young ladies were charged only with trespassing and disorderly conduct (and most likely will do no jail time, pleading to a violation which is not a crime - same thing as pleading guilty to a parking ticket). In the youtube.com video, I believe as tens of thousands of people across America do that it was clear for all to see - including the Manhattan District Attorney's Office that Rayon McIntosh was just defending himself. What kind of young lady jumps over a counter at a McDonald's to chase after a grown man after slapping him in his face? With only seconds to react, any reasonable person would think that this young lady must have a knife or gun on her that she plans to use.
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While there are some who bitterly scourge Rayon McIntosh because of his past mistake that required him to serve 11 years in state prison, we are grateful to the tens of thousands of members of the public who have expressed support for my sons’ right to defend himself against an unprovoked attack.
Rayon McIntosh is a loving father who has an excellent relationship with his daughter and her mother. My son respects woman and fears God. We are a working class family who loves America and are thankful for all of the opportunities that were bestowed upon us.
I love my son. I love God.
Yours sincerely,
Maureen Lucas, RN (Mother of Rayon McIntosh)
Co-Chairperson, Help Free Rayon McIntosh Fund
Contact Information:
Help Free Rayon McIntosh Fund
c/o Maureen Lucas, RN
P.O. Box 503
Tallman, New York 10982-0503
845-596-5990
info@helpfreerayonmcintosh.org
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Leadership Team
(Help Free Rayon McIntosh Fund)
NOTE: No one who is a member of the leadership team is receiving any financial benefit from the Help Free Rayon McIntosh Fund.
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Maureen Lucas, RN (Mother of Rayon McIntosh)
Co-Chairperson, Help Free Rayon McIntosh Fund
| Rayon McIntosh, Sr. (Father of Rayon McIntosh)
Co-Chairperson, Help Free Rayon McIntosh Fund
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John Lucas (Step-Father of Rayon McIntosh)
Family Spokesperson, Help Free Rayon McIntosh Fund
| Thomas Lopez-Pierre
Senior Advisor, Help Free Rayon McIntosh Fund
Licensed Real Estate Broker, Lopez-Pierre Realty, LLC
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Ade Ojo, Esq.
Advisor, Help Free Rayon McIntosh Fund
Law Office of A. Ade Ojo
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