Homeless man charged in alleged assault at Belmont Panda Express

Antoine Thornton, 51, pleaded not guilty to the felony charges Tuesday and the county’s private defender program was appointed to his case, according to prosecutors.

At about 1:30 p.m. May 24, Thornton was allegedly in line to order food at the restaurant on the 1000 block of El Camino Real when he bumped into the alleged victim, a 49-year-old East Palo Alto man who allegedly asked Thornton if he needed more room, according to prosecutors and police.

Thornton allegedly told the alleged victim to wait and returned with a pistol, which he pointed at the man’s head. He allegedly asked the man what he was going to do now, at which point the alleged victim apologized and backed away, according to prosecutors.

Patrons of the restaurant allegedly fled the scene and told police who were outside the restaurant and returning from an unrelated call that there was a man inside with a gun, according to prosecutors and police.

The officers allegedly immediately entered and encountered Thornton, who was pointing the gun at the alleged victim’s head.

Thornton allegedly complied with officer commands and was taken into custody without incident while the alleged victim remained uninjured. Thornton was found to have wielded a loaded Glock 9 mm handgun, according to prosecutors and police.

The restaurant closed for 45 minutes during an investigation, according to police.

In custody on $100,000 bail, Thornton is next expected to appear in court June 10 for preliminary hearing, according to prosecutors.