Hello~
Tim Bowler mainly writes for the audience of A. Teens.
The direct object in the sentence is most likely "Juanita". In order for you to find the direct object in the sentence, you have to find the noun or pronoun that receives the action of a verb. Direct objects ask "who" or "what" regarding the verb in your statement. In the sentence above, Hakeem thanked Juanita for the popcorn. "Thanked" is the verb in your sentence. Now ask yourself, who did Hakeem thank? He thanked Juanita. That makes Juanita the direct object in the sentence. Hope this helped you! (Sorry if this is wrong!)
