Port Washington gas station altercation, man sentenced

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Mobil gas station on Grand Avenue in Port Washington (September 2023)

PORT WASHINGTON, Wis. - A Port Washington man, who prosecutors said threw "some sort of liquid" at a gas station clerk after repeated arguments over vape pens, has been sentenced to time served in the county jail.

In court:

Court records show Damion Payne, 31, pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor disorderly conduct in February 2025. He was originally accused of substantial battery and stalking.

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Gas station altercation | Sept. 19, 2023

The backstory:

Police were called to a Port Washington gas station on Grand Avenue west of Milwaukee Street. Officers found the business was locked but could see the clerk "wiping her eyes" in apparent distress, according to a criminal complaint.

The clerk told police a customer threw "some sort of liquid in her face," per the complaint. She said her "face was burning" and she "could not see." Some of the liquid splashed on the counter was collected for evidence.

Surveillance image of Damion Payne inside Port Washington gas station (September 2023)

The complaint said security footage from the store showed the man, later identified as Payne, walk into the store and straight to the bathroom with a water bottle in his hand. He came out less than a minute later, had a brief conversation with the clerk, threw the liquid from the water bottle into her face and then left.

The victim later told investigators that Payne had been there before to buy a vape pen, according to the complaint, and on one occasion requested that she exchange one he'd already bought the day before because it was empty. She said Payne argued with her at that time, and after talking to the store's owner, agreed to give him a new vape pen but told him to never come back. 

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The complaint said Payne returned to the store the day before the altercation and again asked to buy a vape pen. The clerk said she told him he needed to leave because he was "being such a problem." He eventually left with a new vape pen but said: "Hands to God, you have not seen the last of me. I'll be back."

Police ultimately identified Payne through video footage. Once taken into custody, he said the substance in the water bottle was "only water," and said "if someone got a bottle of water thrown in their face, there must have been a good reason."