A 50-year-old man is facing multiple felony charges after deputies say he left a Mangonia Park 7-Eleven following a dispute over lottery tickets, then returned about five minutes later carrying a machete and struck a store clerk with it while children were inside. Rayon Hendley McDonald was arrested on September 1 and booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on charges that include burglary with assault or battery, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and aggravated assault on specified personnel.
According to WPBF 25, the incident began on August 23 when McDonald entered the convenience store at 2100 45th Street to buy lottery tickets and became involved in a verbal dispute with a clerk. Deputies say McDonald threatened to kill the clerk, according to the clerk’s statement, before leaving and returning roughly five minutes later in a white Hyundai sedan carrying a machete. Investigators later identified McDonald as the registered owner of the vehicle linked to the incident.
Per deputies, McDonald waved the machete near the clerk’s face and, according to the clerk’s statement, struck the clerk with the weapon before pushing the clerk into a display. A second employee told investigators the encounter left her fearing for her safety. Deputies say children were inside the store during the confrontation.
Video Backs Up Witness Accounts, Investigators Say
Investigators reviewed surveillance video from the store, and per investigators, the footage was consistent with the victims’ statements. That combination of witness statements, surveillance footage, and other evidence established probable cause for the charges against McDonald, according to the same investigators. The Riviera Beach man now faces several felony charges tied to the encounter, deputies say…