Left: David Downing Jr. (St. Charles County). Downing in his mug shot with the Pa. Department of Corrections (PDOC).
A convicted killer is accused of threatening to shoot up his Missouri co-workers, saying he was going to "split everyone's taco" after they called him out for being lazy on the job and late to work.
David E. Downing Jr., 40, is charged with first-degree terrorist threat and unlawful possession of a firearm, records show.
The St. Charles Police Department wrote in a probable cause arrest affidavit that the incident occurred on Aug. 20. Downing, who was an employee of a roofing company, was apparently late for work and then "not working" after he finally did show up. An assistant foreman alerted his boss.
After hearing them talk about him, Downing allegedly complained that they were "disrespecting" him. The boss sent everyone to lunch to ease the situation. While they were driving, Downing allegedly showed a co-worker crime scene photos from Pennsylvania for which he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Downing also bragged about killing another person in St. Louis, which was "unsolved," cops wrote. The suspect then reached behind his co-worker and pulled out a gun with a 100-round drum magazine, the affidavit stated. He continued being combative with co-workers when he returned to the site. His boss sent him home and told him not to show up to work the next day.
"Downing stated in front of all the employees present (10-11 persons) that if he was fired over this incident, he would return to the job and 'split everyone's taco,'" investigators wrote.
The people on the job site said they were taking Downing's alleged threats seriously and did not feel comfortable coming back to work. The defendant called his boss on the phone and demanded everyone pay him $1,000 or he would shoot them up, according to the affidavit.
The president of the company called people off the site in fear that Downing would commit violence against his co-workers. He fired Downing via text message.
According to the Daily Item, Downing was sentenced in 2022 to 45 months to 12 years behind bars for shooting 50-year-old Derrick Potts in a hotel room in Valley Township, which is some 45 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Downing was reportedly confronting Potts about raping his girlfriend when he killed the victim in September 2019.
He was originally charged with murder, but a jury opted to convict him on the lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter. He was given credit for the more than two years he already served behind bars and was released on parole in April 2024.
Montour County Judge Gary E. Norton admonished Downing for taking the law into his own hands and not controlling his temper — which apparently flared up again during his workplace tirade.
"If people would take a few breaths, have a discussion and not go armed in anticipation of a problem, we'd have less problems," Norton said, per the Item. "We'd have peace. It's a shame we can't live in peace. This is what happens. A man's dead."
Downing is in the St. Charles County Jail on a $300,000 cash-only bond. His next court date is set for Sept. 9.