A former Taco Bell marketing executive was charged on Tuesday in connection with an assault on an Uber driver.
Benjamin Allen Golden, 32, of Newport Beach, California faces four counts of assault, battery, battery on a public transit employee with injury and assault on public transportation property, according to California's Orange County district attorney’s office. All charges are misdemeanors.
Golden could face up to a year in jail and $10,000 in fines in connection with the attack on the Uber driver that was caught by a dashboard video camera.
Golden, who is out of custody, is set to be arraigned on November 17.
Golden was a marketing manager for Taco Bell, a unit of Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE:YUM). The Irvine-based company said on Monday he is no longer an employee.
Given the behavior of the individual, it is clear he can no longer work for us. We have also offered and encouraged him to seek professional help," the company said in the statement.
Uber driver Edward Caban posted the dashboard camera video of the alleged attack on YouTube on Friday. The video has been viewed more than 1.3 million times.
The YouTube video posted by Caban, which was taken from a camera mounted on his Uber car's dashboard, shows Golden in the back seat Friday night at around 8 p.m.
The video shows Caban repeatedly and unsuccessfully asking Golden for driving directions. Caban flips his camera around to show the inside of the car, and Golden topples over in the back seat with an audible thud as the driver makes a left turn.
In the video, Caban eventually pulls over and orders Golden out the car, saying he is "too drunk" to provide Caban with directions. The driver warns that he will call police if Golden doesn't get out. It's at that point that the confrontation becomes violent.