Taco Bell manager gets three years probation for choking pregnant employee

Linda Witkerson, 48, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault and strangulation, authorities say. (Multnomah County Sheriff's Office)

A former manager at a Portland, Ore., Taco Bell restaurant received a sentence of three years probation Friday for choking a pregnant co-worker during an argument over a food order last year.

Linda Witkerson, 48, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault and strangulation in Multnomah County Circuit Court. In addition to probation, Witkerson was ordered to pay a $250 fine, attend anger management classes, perform 100 hours of community service and told not to contact Mary Hulett, the former co-worker.

“I’m glad there was at least some kind of punishment for what she did,” Hulett told the Oregonian newspaper. “I think she got what she deserved.”

Witkerson and Hulett got into an argument in the Portland International Airport Taco Bell on June 3, 2018. Hulett was four months pregnant at the time. The pair got into a heated exchange after Hulett ordered food during her break, the Oregonian reported. Witkerson , 48, canceled the order after about 20 minutes, the paper reported.

An argument ensued and quickly escalated when she put her hands around Hulett's neck until she was shoved away.

“I didn’t know when she was going to take her hands off my throat, and I was in fear for my child,” Hulett told the Oregonian/OregonLive. “I’m just glad she let go and my son was born healthy.”

“It was wrong for me to call her the b-word, but that doesn’t justify you putting your hands on someone,” she continued.

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Witkerson no longer works for Taco Bell. It was not immediately clear if Hulett was still employed at the fast food chain.