RPD: Customer pistol-whips clerk at laundromat on Hudson Ave after not getting a refund

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Rochester Police say a customer pistol-whipped a clerk at a laundromat on Hudson Avenue after the clerk refused to give her a $1.25 refund.

Mahlaysia Johnson, 29, is charged with assault, criminal possession of a weapon, and reckless endangerment. She was also charged with endangering the welfare of a child after officers said they found a 9-year-old in her car.

RPD responded to the laundromat just after 7 p.m. on Monday and found the clerk with injuries to the face. Officers say the customer broke the dryer and became angry after she didn’t receive a refund.

RPD says the customer got a handgun from her car and struck the clerk in the face, which caused the gun to fire and set off a ShotSpotter alert.

RPD officers eventually found Johnson’s car on Clifford Avenue off Portland Avenue and arrested her. RPD says she had loaded a handgun on her and a child in the backseat.

Johnson was taken to Monroe County Jail and the child is now in the care of a family member. The clerk was treated at the hospital and is expected to be ok.