Ex-Beyond Meat executive pleads guilty in nose-bite

FAYETTEVILLE — A former chief operating officer of Beyond Meat pleaded guilty and was placed on probation Tuesday for biting the nose of another man during an altercation last year.

Fayetteville police arrested Douglas Wayne Ramsey, 54, on suspicion of felony battery and making a terroristic threat after the attack in a parking garage in September following an Arkansas Razorbacks football game.

Ramsey pleaded guilty to felony criminal mischief and a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct before Fourth Judicial Circuit Judge Joanna Taylor. He was placed on probation for three years and fined $1,000. He also was ordered to pay $73 restitution, be screened for anger management and comply with any recommendation for treatment.

A terroristic threatening charge was dropped as part of Ramsey’s plea agreement.

Ramsey was angered when another driver inched in front of him in a traffic lane and hit the front passenger wheel of Ramsey’s Ford Bronco, according to a police report.

Ramsey got out of his Bronco and punched through the back windshield of the other driver’s car, according to the report. The driver told police he got out of the car and Ramsey pulled him close and began punching him.

Ramsey also bit the tip of the other driver’s nose, ripping the flesh, police said.

The driver and witnesses told police Ramsey threatened to kill the other man before occupants of both vehicles got out and separated them.

Ramsey had spent more than 30 years at Springdale-based Tyson Foods before joining Beyond Meat Inc. as its chief operating officer in late 2021.

Ramsey was suspended by Beyond Meat after the incident. He left the company in October.