Wrestling-Themed Restaurant Owner Body Slams Armed Man
CHICAGO, March 13 (UPI) — A man who co-owns a wrestling-themed restaurant in Chicago with his wife, a former WWE star, used his own moves to take down an armed man at the business.
Lee Varon, who co-owns The Squared Circle with wife Lisa Marie Varon, who performed in the WWE as Victoria, said a server told him about 9:30 p.m. Saturday a young man in the eatery was behaving strangely.
Varon said the man walked into a women’s bathroom before walking into the kitchen and telling him he was being pursued by men with guns.
“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,'” Varon told ABC News. “I escorted him back to the kitchen and he was immediately combative with me.”
Varon said he took action when the man appeared to be reaching for a weapon in his pants.
Security camera footage from the restaurant shows Varon wrestle the suspect into submission.
Lee said one of his cooks was able to get the suspect’s gun.
“My chef pulled the gun out of the kid’s pants and said, ‘where do I put it?’ I said, ‘On the table.’ He said, ‘Where?’ I said. ‘Next to the sprinkles’ and just hearing put the gun next to the sprinkles is not something you say on a daily basis,” Lee told CBS Chicago.
Arnez Harper, 18, was arrested on charges of possession of a controlled substance, battery, aggravated assault and unlawful use of a weapon.
