Employee fired for restraining man who threatened to blow up Scranton Turkey Hill

Alejandro Castro may have averted a potential catastrophe last month when he engaged a man threatening to blow up the Turkey Hill on Providence Road in Scranton.

It ended up costing Castro his job.

Castro, a now-former employee of the Turkey Hill who said he was an assistant manager, was working Nov. 19 when a man standing by the fuel pumps with a lighter threatened to blow up the business. The threats were reportedly made by Nathan Daniel Reid, 38, who Castro ultimately brought to the ground and restrained after telling a colleague to shut off the fuel pumps and call police.

Reid faces a felony count of risking catastrophe and misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and making terroristic threats for his alleged actions that day, which police detailed in charging documents. Castro, who feared for his own safety and that of colleagues and customers during the incident, was fired for his.

A document provided by Castro shows he was terminated by EG America LLC effective Dec. 5 for violating general rules of conduct related to “handling challenging guests.” EG America owns and operates in excess of 1,600 convenience stores and fuel retailers nationwide, including Turkey Hill locations in Pennsylvania and Ohio, according to its website.

The document includes a facts section detailing the apparent policy violation.

“On November 19, 2024, a guest became disruptive at the pump island,” that section reads. “It was reported in Alejandro’s statement, that the guest had a torch lighter in their hand, and that when Alejandro went outside to access the situation, the guest told Alejandro, ‘I will blow it! Stay back!’”

“Alejandro went back inside to confirm the pumps were shut off, and then went back outside and took the torch lighter from the guest,” the narrative continues. “The guest swung at Alejandro and Alejandro engaged in a move that took the guest down to the ground. This resulted in Alejandro restraining the guest with Alejandro’s legs and arms, until the local police arrived. This interaction was observed on cameras as reported.”

Reid’s charging documents describe largely the same series of events.

Castro, who’d worked at the Turkey Hill since about April, said he was suspended shortly after the incident and advised of his termination during a meeting with superiors Dec. 5, when he was given the document he refused to sign.

“I was in a state of shock,” Castro said this week. “I just got finished saving not my job, but a bunch…