1.18.22 – NY Daily News
“I’m working in fast food too. I don’t want to go back. I’m very scared,” said Kristie Nieves, whose 19-year-old daughter, Kristal Bayron-Nieves, was fatally shot Jan. 9 while working an overnight shift at the eatery on E. 116th St. and Lexington Ave.
“Maybe my daughter is not the first one who died in this way, but I want her to be the last,” she said, speaking in Spanish through an interpreter.
Nieves is being represented by lawyer Sanford Rubenstein, who said Monday that “lack of appropriate security” may have contributed to the teen’s death.
“With regard to civil liability, we are looking at the issue of Burger King, the owner of the property, and any security company that was involved with supposedly doing security for Burger King,” Rubenstein said.
Winston Glynn, 30, a former employee of the same Burger King, was charged with Bayron-Nieves’ slaying.
“I don’t want him out ever again,” the distraught mom said.
The younger Bayron-Nieves feared for her safety and wanted to get off overnight shifts at the 24-hour fast food joint.
Samantha Martinez, 20, who worked alongside the teen and quit after her death, said the store’s management ignored pleas for more security and didn’t even fix the lock on a door that lets people get behind the counter.
“It’s broken, and it’s been like that for months. So it’s not even like they didn’t know about it. The owner of the store… he has to open the door to come in, so he obviously knows it’s broken,” Martinez said.
Martinez said she typically finished her shift as Bayron-Nieves started hers, but would stick around to help her at night and hang out before going home.
“Because it’s too much for all of us,” she explained. ” We’re very busy, it’s only us girls at night. And they have no security. Burger King on 125th (has) security, and they’re not even open all night.”
“I asked for security many times, like before this happened,” she added. “And they ignored me. It’s not like ya’ll don’t have the money.”
Martinez said she didn’t know Bayron-Nieves was working the night of the shooting, so she left early.
“It’s crazy. I never leave early…. I was tired. They had enough people, they had three people on shift that day,” she said.
By the time Glynn showed up at 12:45 a.m., Bayron-Nieves and the night manager were the only two employees working, police said.
“So that day I left, and I’m texting Kristal because somebody’s telling me what happened. So I’m calling Kristal, I’m calling Kristal,” Martinez said. “Somebody answers her phone. And I got to the hospital and stuff, and that’s when I found out.”
“I didn’t think that was really gonna happen to us, ever,” she said. “But you know, the conditions that we’re in, we’re understaffed, two people every day. It’s not like people don’t see how our store is. Very bad conditions.”
She said Glynn showed up at the restaurant, maskless, a day before the shooting and detectives used that footage to help identify him.
Investigators reviewed surveillance footage of the hours leading up to the shooting from the 116th St. 6 train subway stop and saw the suspect walk into the station wearing different clothing and carrying a backpack, cops said.
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Glynn remains held on Rikers Island without bail.
Nieves said she plans to fly to Puerto Rico with her daughter’s body Thursday for her daughter’s funeral.