Texas Man Died After Steakhouse Staff Carried Him Outside Thinking He Was Sleeping

HOUSTON, TX — A 34-year-old man died outside a Houston steakhouse after employees assumed he was homeless and failed to call for medical help, according to reports from the New York Post, KHOU-TV and the Houston Chronicle.

Jessie Mobley Jr. allegedly fell asleep after dining at KFFO Afro Steakhouse on Aug. 7. Staff reportedly carried him outside and propped him against the building with his belongings, the New York Post reported. He was discovered dead the next morning by a student heading to a nearby beauty school, according to the Houston Police Department.

Police told KHOU that employees did not call 911 because they believed Mobley was homeless. First responders later pronounced him dead outside the Eldridge/West Oaks neighborhood strip mall just after 9 a.m.

Mobley lived with his aunt, Charlene Fogg-Drake, who criticized the restaurant’s actions in comments to the Houston Chronicle. “Why didn’t you call 911? I feel like people need to be accountable for it, I really do,” she said.

Mobley’s parents, Renee and Jessie Sr., told the New York Post they have now lost three children over the last 13 years. They questioned why the restaurant did not provide assistance. “If you don’t know what’s wrong with someone, you shouldn’t assume,” Renee said.

No official cause of death has been released, pending autopsy results. His parents told the New York Post that Mobley’s body showed signs of decay when they viewed him.

Mobley was cremated in Houston, and his ashes were taken back to his family home in Spring, about 25 miles north.

The owners of the steakhouse declined to comment, KHOU reported.