Police say a McAlister’s Deli employee attacked the coworker who received a promotion he had sought.

BRIDGETON, Mo. — A restaurant manager who heard a disturbance behind a locked office door interrupted an alleged strangling attack June 8, allowing an employee to escape and leading to the arrest of her coworker, according to police and court records.

Jevon Mallory, 32, faces first-degree assault and first-degree burglary charges in St. Louis County. Investigators say Mallory targeted the woman after she received a promotion for which he had also applied. Police said he admitted that he went to the Bridgeton McAlister’s Deli knowing she was working and intending to kill her. A judge initially ordered him held at the St. Louis County Justice Center on a $500,000 cash-only bond.

The confrontation began at about 10:30 a.m. inside a small office at the back of the restaurant, authorities said. The woman, whose name has not been released, was working in the room when Mallory entered and locked the door behind him. According to the probable cause statement, he told her that he was going to kill her, placed both hands around her neck and began applying pressure. Police said he wrestled her to the floor and continued strangling her after she became limp. The account does not say how long the assault lasted or whether other workers saw Mallory enter the office. It describes the closed door and the sounds coming from the room as the first signs available to people outside that something was wrong.

The restaurant’s general manager heard what court records called a “commotion” and went to investigate. The office had been locked, but the manager was able to unlock the door and enter. Police said Mallory released the woman when the manager came inside. The woman got to her feet and moved out of the room with the manager. Rather than allowing Mallory to follow them into the restaurant, the manager closed the door and locked him inside the office. Someone then called police. The records reviewed for the case do not identify the manager or describe any physical confrontation between the manager and Mallory. They also do not say whether customers were in the dining area at the time or whether the restaurant suspended operations after officers arrived.

The intervention created a sharp break in the sequence described by investigators. Police said Mallory later told officers that he would have killed the woman if the general manager had not opened the door. That statement, as summarized in the probable cause record, is central to the state’s account of his intent. It also places the manager’s arrival at the point when the alleged victim had already gone limp. Authorities have not publicly released a medical report detailing the woman’s injuries or said whether she was taken to a hospital. The available accounts establish that she was able to stand, leave the room and reach safety after the door opened. Her condition after the incident and whether she has returned to work have not been disclosed.

Officers detained Mallory at the restaurant and questioned him about what had happened, police said. Investigators said he spoke about the recent promotion and acknowledged that he had wanted the same position. According to the police account, Mallory said he was angry that the woman received it. He also allegedly said he knew she was scheduled to work that morning and came to the restaurant with a plan to kill her. Those alleged admissions go beyond a claim that an argument suddenly became violent. Prosecutors may use them in seeking to show preparation and intent, although the defense will have an opportunity to challenge how the statements were obtained, recorded and presented. No defense response to the accusations was included in the initial reports.

The burglary charge reflects the state’s allegation that the office became an unlawfully occupied space during the attack, even though Mallory worked at the restaurant. Workplace access does not automatically decide whether a person may lawfully enter or remain in every part of a business for every purpose. The precise theory behind that count will be tested as the criminal case proceeds. The assault charge is tied to the alleged attempt to kill or cause serious physical injury. Both charges are accusations, and Mallory is presumed innocent unless he pleads guilty or prosecutors prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt. The initial probable cause statement represents the investigators’ account rather than a final finding by a judge or jury.

The case also brought renewed attention to an earlier attack for which Mallory served years in state prison. In April 2013, when he was 20, authorities said he entered a women’s restroom at St. Louis Community College’s Meramec campus in Kirkwood and strangled a student. The student screamed, and a college employee entered and restrained Mallory until police arrived. Mallory later pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in connection with that case and received a 10-year prison sentence. State incarceration records cited in local reporting show that he was imprisoned from December 2014 until October 2022. The earlier conviction is not proof that he committed the new offenses, but it may become relevant during decisions about detention, bond or any future sentence permitted by law.

The two cases contain notable similarities in the accounts released by authorities. Both involved women attacked by the neck in enclosed spaces, and both ended after another person entered and intervened. In the campus case, the victim’s scream drew an employee into the restroom. In the restaurant case, a manager heard a disturbance through an office door. Those parallels are part of the public record, but prosecutors must still prove the June 8 allegations on their own evidence. The state cannot rely on a prior conviction as a substitute for proof of the new charges. Court proceedings will determine what evidence from the older case, if any, may be presented and for what limited purpose.

Investigators have not released surveillance video, emergency call audio, photographs from the office or statements from other restaurant workers. It remains unknown whether cameras recorded Mallory’s arrival or movements inside the business. The reports also do not identify who made the emergency call, how quickly Bridgeton officers arrived or whether Mallory made statements before receiving a formal warning about his rights. Those details could become important as attorneys examine the sequence of the arrest and the evidence supporting the charges. The woman’s identity has been withheld, a common practice when authorities release information about an alleged violent assault without a victim’s permission.

The allegations unfolded in an ordinary workplace setting during morning business hours, rather than in a private home or isolated outdoor location. The office’s position at the rear of the restaurant limited what others could see, but the manager was close enough to hear the disturbance. The manager’s access to the locked room and decision to secure Mallory inside gave the woman time to move away before police arrived. Authorities have not said whether the manager had received emergency training or acted according to a company procedure. McAlister’s Deli had not been quoted in the initial reports addressing the attack, the promotion decision or the employment status of the people involved.

The criminal case was expected to move from the initial charging and detention stage into bond review and preliminary proceedings. Mallory’s first reported bond hearing was scheduled for June 16. At such early hearings, a court may consider the allegations, criminal history, risk of flight and possible danger to the public while deciding whether detention terms should change. Later proceedings can include discovery, motions over statements or other evidence, and a hearing to determine whether probable cause supports moving the felony case forward. No trial date was announced in the reports reviewed, and no plea had been reported.

The woman survived an encounter that police say Mallory intended to make fatal. The manager’s entry ended the physical contact, created a path out of the office and left Mallory confined until officers could take him into custody. The case now turns from the manager’s immediate response inside the restaurant to the slower court process, where prosecutors must support each charge with admissible evidence and the defense may contest the state’s account.

Author note: Last updated July 11, 2026.