Man begging for food at KFC stabbed by customer, police say

By Wayne K. Roustan

FORT LAUDERDALE — A man who walked into a Fort Lauderdale restaurant and asked a customer for some food was beaten and stabbed in the head instead, and now the customer is facing a charge of attempted murder, police said.

The stabbing victim — whose name was redacted from the arrest report — approached customer

Branden Dion Pearson inside a Kentucky Fried Chicken at 401 W. Broward Blvd. at about noon on Wednesday and asked for some food. Pearson, 27, refused and began insulting the man, according to the arrest report.

The two men continued insulting and cursing at each other inside the restaurant. When they started throwing punches an employee got between them in a doorway. Pearson was inside and the victim was outside the restaurant, the report stated.

The victim grabbed a handful of small rocks from the parking lot and threw them at Pearson who pushed past the employee and knocked the victim to the ground. The victim tried kicking Pearson but Pearson got on top of him, pulled out a knife, and stabbed the victim in the head, investigators said.

Pearson went back in the restaurant, sat down, and waited for police. The victim was taken to the hospital, police said.

During questioning, detectives said Pearson admitted to stabbing the man because the victim threw rocks at him.

Pearson is being held in the Broward County Jail on a $50,000 bond, records show.

Wayne K. Roustan can be reached at wkroustan@ sunsentinel.com or 561379-6119 or on Twitter @ WayneRoustan