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James Iannazzo, age 48, of Fairfield, was ordered by Superior Court Judge Ndidi Moses on Monday, Feb. 8 to stay away from Robeks Smoothie Shop and to have no contact with the victim, in connection with a Saturday, Jan. 22 incident.
According to Sgt. Michael Stahl, of the Fairfield Police, an investigation found that at around 1 p.m., Iannazzo made a purchase at Robeks and left the store without incident.
At approximately 1:40 p.m., Iannazzo called 911 requesting an EMS response to his home for his 17-year-old son who suffered an allergic reaction to nuts and was later transported to an area hospital, police said.
A short time later, Iannazzo returned to Robeks and confronted employees, yelling at them and demanding to know who had made the smoothie that contained peanuts, causing his child’s allergic reaction, Stahl said.
When employees could not provide Iannazzo with the answer he became irate, yelling at the employees using a number of expletives. He then threw a drink at an employee, which hit their right shoulder. The employee reported that they had no complaints of pain or injury. Iannazzo also made comments toward an employee referencing their immigration status, Stahl added.
Iannazzo, who lost his job at Merrill Lynch, following the incident that went viral online, has been charged with breach of peace, criminal trespass, and intimidation based on bigotry or bias. He did not enter a plea on Monday.
After the incident, Iannazzo made at least two public apologies for his behavior during the incident, saying he was fearful for his son's life at the time.
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