Overview
- Jose Juan Rangel filed a wrongful-death and negligence suit on Jan. 8 in Los Angeles Superior Court against McDonald’s Corp. and two franchise holders.
- The complaint stems from a March 2024 incident in Boyle Heights in which alleged assailant Charles Cornelius Green Jr. confronted the couple at a drive-thru, after which Maria Vargas Luna suffered catastrophic head injuries and later died.
- Rangel alleges employees observed the confrontation through the window and on live video feeds yet failed to summon emergency help as Green reportedly panhandled at the site for about ten minutes before the attack.
- The suit cites LAPD records showing 132 responses to the restaurant between 2020 and March 2024, including numerous incidents involving assaults, batteries, or disturbances.
- Prosecutors later dropped a felony count against Green, released him on his own recognizance, and left the criminal case unresolved, a decision the family publicly criticized.