Worker frustrated by busy McDonald's gets prison for lighting dumpster on fire

(TND) — A Georgia man got five years in federal prison for lighting a dumpster on fire because the McDonald’s he was working at was too busy.

Joshua Daryl McGregor, 34, lit the fire last year, pleaded guilty to arson this spring, and was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution for the property loss, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Georgia announced last week.

McGregor was working at a McDonald’s in Savannah when he became frustrated by how busy the restaurant was, so prosecutors said he lit a piece of cardboard on fire and tossed it into the restaurant’s dumpster, which was full of cardboard and other flammable materials.

The fire became so intense that drive-thru customers had to back out of the parking lot, and the restaurant was temporarily forced to close.

McGregor also filmed the fire with his cellphone, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

“Intentionally setting a fire in an effort to shut down or damage someone else’s property is inexcusable,” U.S. Attorney Jill E. Steinberg said in a news release. “Joshua McGregor will have substantial time to ponder his post-prison employment options.”