Two McDonald's workers who risked their lives to stall Facebook killer Steve Stephens and his order of 20 chicken nuggets and large french fries SHOULD receive the $50K reward, Cleveland cops say
- Steve Stephens' flight from justice ended when he was spotted at a drive-thru
- McDonald's workers recognized him in their Pennsylvania franchise on Tuesday
- They stalled him by saying he had to wait for fries while they called 911
- Stephens tried to leave just as police arrived, and shot himself after a car chase
- Police say the as-yet-unidentified heroes should receive a $50,000 reward
- The reward was put up for his arrest, but cops say it's well deserved
After two days on the run, Facebook killer Steve Stephens' reign of terror came to an end on Tuesday morning - thanks to the bravery of two McDonald's employees.
The workers, who haven't yet been identified, spotted Stephens, 37, as he pulled into their drive-thru on Buffalo Road in Erie, Pennsylvania, at around 11am.
Recognizing him as the man who shot dead Robert Godwin, 74, on Sunday, they delayed him long enough for police to arrive and give chase - leading to Stephens' death by suicide.
Now - if the police have their say - the workers will be splitting a $50,000 reward, TMZ reported.
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Stopped: Steve Stephens (pictured left and right) was hunted across five states by the law for killing a 74-year-old man on Sunday - but it was two McDonald's workers who stopped him
Brave: The brave employees, who worked here in Erie, Pennsylvania, got Stephens to wait while they called 911 by telling him that his fries weren't ready. Police arrived just as he fled
Technically the money - which was pooled together by the FBI, ATF and US Marshal Service - was only for those who led to Stephens being arrested.
But according to the site, local and federal law enforcement officers both agree that the workers were pivotal in stopping Stephens, and should get the reward anyway.
There haven't been any meetings on the reward by the authorities yet, sources said.
Henry Sayers, who manages the McDonald's franchise around 100 miles from where Godwin was shot down in cold blood, said his employees recognized Stephens as he made his order.
The female attendant wasn't absolutely certain it was him, Sayers told Pix 11, but reports that Stephens' cell had pinged in Erie meant it was certainly possible.
After Stephens ordered what would be his last meal - 20 Chicken McNuggets and a large order of fries for $5.35 - staff called 911.
That meant fooling the killer - who had already shot at least one stranger in cold blood - into hanging around.
Chase: After a chase from the restaurant, Stephens' white car (pictured, center) was run off the road and he shot himself. Cops now say the two workers should share the $50,000 reward
'We basically told him it would be a minute for his fries, which it wasn't really, we were just trying to make sure she got in contact with state police,' said Tom Ducharme Jr, who runs the franchise.
Stephens was acting normal at first, Sayers said - so much so that you wouldn't believe he was a killer. But he began to get more nervous the longer he waited.
'I'm thinking at that point he might have been thinking someone in the store recognized him, and he was trying to get out of here,' Ducharme said.
'I can't wait! I need my McNuggets!' Stephens said before driving off. Sayers noted that he drove at a regular speed.
But the plan had worked: Police arrived within 30 seconds of the call being made - just in time to catch him leaving the parking lot.
They knocked him off the road with a 'precise immobilization technique' (PIT) maneuver after a two-mile chase, at which point he shot himself.
Ducharme added that before making his order, Stephens had asked another employee, who was on break behind the building, for directions to the interstate - suggesting that he might have disappeared again if not stopped.
He added that he was 'just so proud' of his crew and manager 'for how they handled everything'.
Fled: Stephens shot Robert Godwin, 74, in Cleveland, Ohio, and died in Erie, around 100 miles away. Police are still working out what happened in the intervening two days
The hunt for Stephens, a job counselor who worked with teens, which began after the shooting in Cleveland's Glenville neighborhood on Monday.
It then expanded across five states before it ended abruptly on Tuesday.
'This started with one tragedy and ended with another person ending their life… We would like to have brought Stephens in peacefully and talked to him about why this happened,' said police chief Calvin Williams.
In the wake of Stephens' death, Angela Smith, the mother of two of Godwin's children, lashed at the killer for 'escaping justice' by committing suicide.
Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, Smith described Stephens as a 'coward,' adding: 'If he was going to do that he should have done it right at the beginning.
'He was better killing himself than doing what he did. He shouldn't have taken my baby-father and robbed them of him.'
Angela, 34, crying and screaming, added: 'He escaped justice. My kids ain't never gonna get closure. He should have given himself up to the police.'
Victim: Godwin (left) was stopped by Stephens apparently at random. Stephens then shot him dead while filming the encounter, then uploaded the video to Facebook
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4423646/McDonald-s-workers-stopped-killer-50K.html#ixzz4efRN0BAR
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