‘Irate’ stylist holds client hostage, threatens her with scissors, Tennessee cops say
A hair stylist accused of holding her client hostage after a dispute over a surprise $50 fee has been charged, according to Tennessee police.
Mychelle Ray, 31, also allegedly threatened the woman during the Sept. 13 incident inside the Luv My Hair Salon in Memphis, the city’s police said in an arrest affidavit.
Ray was arrested Wednesday, Oct. 9, on charges of aggravated assault and false imprisonment, court documents show.
Police said they were called to the salon and spoke to the victim, who was there to get her hair done. She told officers she paid Ray a $50 deposit, then sent her $410 via digital payment app Zelle.
Toward the end of the service, Ray demanded an extra $50, the client told police. She became “irate and began cursing” when the woman questioned the unexpected fee, according to the affidavit.
Ray went on to tell the woman: “Don’t move because I got these scissors next to your face,” the affidavit said.
The client told police she tried leaving the salon, but Ray locked the door and blocked her path.
“[expletive], you not going nowhere until you pay me,” Ray told her client, according to police.
That’s when the woman called 911 for help, telling authorities she was “in fear for her life,” the affidavit said. Ray continued to hold the woman there until authorities advised her that she was committing a crime.
Ray was taken to the Shelby County Jail and released after posting a $7,500 bond, online records show.