Six-Year Sentence for Salon Terror
A 28-year-old California man has been sentenced to six years behind bars after unleashing a profanity-filled rampage in a hair salon, an incident captured on viral video. August Marriott received his sentence on Tuesday after pleading guilty to an assault charge related to the January outburst.
The Viral Outburst
The incident unfolded at the Great Clips salon in Santee, approximately an hour outside of San Diego, on January 29. Marriott, who was reportedly out on parole for a previous charge at the time, arrived nearly an hour late for his appointment just before 7pm. When a staff member pointed out his tardiness, the situation rapidly escalated.
Cell phone footage captured by stylist Jessica Schirmer shows Marriott becoming increasingly irate, screaming obscenities before his anger turned physical. "I just didn't know how he was going to act," Schirmer later told NBC 7, expressing her fear during the incident. "I'm pretty shaken up because we didn't know if he had anything in his pockets, you know, weapon, knife."
According to the San Diego County Sheriff's Office, Marriott began violently vandalising the establishment, overturning shelves of products and throwing shampoo bottles across the salon while continuing his tirade of obscenities.
Aftermath and Arrest
The furious outburst resulted in one employee sustaining minor injuries, though Marriott fled the scene before law enforcement officers arrived. His freedom was short-lived, however, as 'many' anonymous tips led investigators to locate and arrest him in Chula Vista on February 4.
Although Marriott initially posted bail, he found himself back in custody after being arrested in Florida for missing a court date. Online records indicate he had also used the aliases Cooper Hill and Juan Martinez.
For the salon employees, the psychological impact has lingered long after the physical damage was repaired. Schirmer described the ongoing fear among staff members: "That next night when we were closing I was looking out the window, kind of making sure we did everything at the same time so we could leave at the same time." She added, "You don't know how someone's going to act when they just kind of snap like that."
The case serves as a stark reminder of how quickly routine situations can escalate into violence, with the six-year sentence representing the serious consequences of such destructive behaviour.
