JUNE 26--A Massachusetts man is facing a felony assault with a dangerous weapon charge after allegedly tossing a batch of “hot and oily” McDonald’s french fries at his stepdaughter during an dispute last Friday in the family car, police report.

According to cops, James Hackett, 26, got into an argument about money with his wife after the couple--and the woman’s 11-year-old daughter--picked up food at the drive-thru window of a McDonald’s in Lowell.

As the couple argued, the girl “began to interject into the argument in an attempt to get the two to stop fighting.” This allegedly upset Hackett, who “picked up the container of French fries he had just purchased, which were hot and oily, and threw it at [the girl], striking her in the face and chest area.”

While the child was not injured, “the heat of the oil could cause burning to skin and eyes,” a Lowell Police Department report notes.

Hackett was subsequently arrested after his wife called police to report the incident. When Officer Richard Cesarz collared Hackett, he informed him that “he was being charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon to wit french fry.”

Free on bail, Hackett yesterday appeared in District Court and pleaded not guilty to the assault and battery count (he was also ordered to have no contact with his stepdaughter). Hackett is scheduled for an August 10 pretrial conference. (2 pages)