ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – An Albuquerque man is in jail Wednesday, accused of punching a McDonald’s employee after he says his food took too long.

Police say Ruben Martinez is facing two felony charges because the employees involved are teenagers. 

One of the victims told deputies he was working the McDonald’s drive-thru on Coors near Arenal the day after Christmas. 

According to court documents, he told Martinez to move up to wait on his food. When he ran it out to him, things got out of hand.

Martinez says he was waiting there for 15 minutes when a teenage employee brought out his food. The teen apologized for the wait, but things escalated — Martinez got out of his car.

A female teenage employee went outside to break up the argument when documents say Martinez punched her in the face. 

Martinez told Bernalillo County Sheriff’s deputies he was just trying to protect himself, swinging wildly when people started to gather.

Now, he’s facing two felony child abuse charges. An attorney representing him Wednesday questioned the severity of those charges.

“He didn’t place them in a situation that endangered their life or their health. That’s the argument,” said the defense attorney. 

“There doesn’t need to be death or great bodily harm to be probable cause,” said Candace Coulson, prosecutor. 

Judge Joshua Sanchez moved the case forward.

“There are sufficient facts contained in the four corners of the criminal complaint to establish probable cause,” said Sanchez. 

Martinez will be released from jail before trial. But as part of those conditions, he has to stay away from all McDonald’s locations.