Deria Francis Stukes says she was eight weeks pregnant when an encounter with a Circle K clerk turned violent and ultimately caused her to lose her baby.
What should have been a routine stop at a gas station became life-altering for the South Carolina woman. Rev. Deria Francis Stukes, 40, was traveling with her sons from South Carolina to Detroit for a conference when she stopped at a Circle K in Bowling Green, Ohio. Inside the store, she says she was assaulted by clerk Shannon Walsh, 28, leaving her and her family traumatized.
The incident occurred on May 23, 2025, after Stukes asked Walsh if she could cancel a transaction so she could apply her Circle K fuel rewards. According to Stukes, the clerk became hostile and argumentative.
“She kept saying I wouldn’t get my money back right away, and that wasn’t my concern,” Stukes said. “Then she said it would be on her if the money didn’t come back. It just didn’t make sense. When I asked why she was being nasty, she made racial comments to a friend and to a man standing in line.”
Surveillance video from the store reportedly shows Walsh throwing a jar of change at Stukes, striking her in the stomach. The footage then shows Walsh leaving the counter area, grabbing Stukes by the hair, and repeatedly punching her.
Stukes said her sons witnessed the attack and were left frightened and confused. “I had to tell my 13-year-old to go get his dad,” she said. “Why am I trying to defend myself in front of my children?”
According to a press release from her attorney, Charles Boyk, Walsh also called Stukes “an animal” and “ghetto” during the altercation. Bowling Green police responded to the scene and arrested Walsh, who later pleaded no contest and was found guilty of assault in Bowling Green Municipal Court.
The Stukes family has since filed a lawsuit seeking $75,000 in damages. The complaint alleges that Walsh, while acting within the scope of her employment, threw a jar of change that struck Stukes’ stomach while she was pregnant, then pulled her by the hair, slammed her into a drink cooler, and repeatedly struck her with a closed fist.
‼️HORRIFIC: Pregnant Black Minister Rev. Deria Francis Miscarries After BRUTAL RACIST Assault by White Circle K Clerk—Files Federal Lawsuit Against Store & Employee!
📍Bowling Green, OH
Stukes Now Files FEDERAL LAWSUIT Against Walsh, Circle K & Parent Co. for Negligence &… pic.twitter.com/nHVNcJE35H
— i Expose Racists & Pedos (@SeeRacists) December 13, 2025