Husband of Ex-WWE Star 'Victoria' Takes Down Allegedly Armed Intruder in Their Restaurant
The suspect allegedly ran into the husband of ex-WWE star “Victoria.”
-- This man walked into the wrong restaurant.
Surveillance video at The Circled Square restaurant in Chicago caught a confrontation between the husband of the restaurant's owner, Lisa Marie Varon, famously known as ex-WWE star "Victoria," and an intruder who was allegedly hiding a gun. The incident happened around 9:20 p.m. Saturday.
Suspect Arnez Harper, 18, has been arrested and is in custody, officials said.
With the help of restaurant staff, Lee Varon, Lisa’s husband, said he was successfully able to disarm, wrestle down and detain the suspect until police arrived.
"One of the servers saw somebody come in here, and he just sat down, and he was acting a little odd," Lee told reporters at the scene Saturday. "She asked if he was OK, and he just walked into the women's bathroom."
Lee bumped into Harper when Harper walked out of the bathroom and started toward the kitchen, Lee said.
"He said some guys with guns were chasing him, and I thought, ‘If guys with guns were really chasing you, then you shouldn't be out front,’" Lee said. "I escorted him back to the kitchen and he was immediately combative with me."
Harper allegedly tried to reach for a gun inside his pants, so Lee picked him up and talked to him, Lee said.
"I said, 'Hey, I'm going to put you back down, but if you're going for a weapon, we're going to have a problem," Lee said.
Lee can then be seen on video carrying Harper into the corner of the kitchen, where Lee said he shoved Harper against the sink. Lee heard "metal on metal," which he said confirmed his suspicions Harper had a gun, Lee added.
The chef then called police, Lee said, and after a few minutes of holding Harper down, Lee said he had the chef take the gun Harper allegedly had been hiding.
After a few more seconds, Lee can then be seen in the video wrestling Harper down onto the floor.
"The whole time, he [Harper] was head-butting, screaming, biting," Lee said. "He said he didn't want to go to prison.
"There was an obvious size difference," Lee added. "He wouldn't be in my weight class. He'd be in my sister's weight class."
The police soon arrived on the scene and arrested Harper on multiple felony and misdemeanor charges including aggravated assault, the use of a deadly weapon, possession of a controlled substance, battery and not having proper firearm owner identification, a Chicago Police Department spokeswoman told ABC News today.
Harper faced a bond judge Sunday, who ruled to hold him on $90,000 bail, a Central Bond Court spokeswoman told ABC News.
It is unknown whether Harper has a lawyer, and he has not yet entered a plea, the court spokeswoman added, saying his next court date will be March 24, when he will be expected to answer to the charges filed against him.