Brooklyn IHOP Employee Who Poured Free Drinks: 'I Am the Modern Day Robin Hood'

Photo by frankieleon

DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN, NY — William F. Powell, a 27-year-old fast-food server who used to work at the IHOP in Downtown Brooklyn, defended himself as "the modern day Robin Hood" when his boss caught him handing out hundreds of free drinks to customers, according to a complaint filed last week in Brooklyn Criminal Court.

"I am the modern day Robin Hood," Powell allegedly said when confronted. "I am not stealing. I am serving the ones in need. I take from the rich and give to the poor."

"What's the big deal?" the IHOP employee added, according to the complaint against him. "I've been doing this since I started here."

Powell was arrested by the NYPD on March 2 for allegedly removing more than $4,000 worth of "consumables" from the newly opened IHOP at Livingston and Bond streets, a police source told Patch.

Powell has since been charged with petit larceny, grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.

Powell's boss, Akrell Cox, cross-examined months of customer receipts with surveillance footage from inside the IHOP to determine that her young employee had given away hundreds of drinks for free, according to the complaint.

Christopher Eaton, an assistant district attorney with the Brooklyn DA's Office, will be prosecuting the case. He intends to argue that Powell handed out IHOP property "with the intent to benefit the defendant or a person other than an owner," the complaint says.

A call for comment from Powell's public defender, Cameron Mease, was not immediately returned.

Akrell Cox, whose LinkedIn profile says she's been an IHOP branch owner since 2008, likewise could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon. We'll update if we hear back.