Charges have been laid against a Brampton, Ont., man who allegedly assaulted a waiter after an attempted dine-and-dash in The Blue Mountains, according to Ontario Provincial Police.
The alleged assault was captured on video and eventually found its way to Michael McWhorter, who is known as @tizzyent on social media.
He shared the footage on several social media channels, which garnered hundreds of thousands of views.
In the video, which was outside of Magnone’s Italian Kitchener in The Blue Mountains on Sept. 15, a man in a t-shirt, shorts and flip flops is seen screaming threats at a staff member after he left the restaurant without paying the bill.
The staff member in the video, whose name is Robbie Martin, told Global News that while he is a waiter at the restaurant, it was not his table that was involved in the dine-and-dash.
“I’m a tall guy, and I can look intimidating and maybe threatening,” he explained, noting that he is a big softie at heart. “And the waitress that was serving them is like a very small, petite girl. And so was the supervisor that asked me to come outside with her.”
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Martin said he was given a little information about the situation before he went outside and approached the couple who had been part of a larger group.
“I just tried to stay calm and focus on the situation and not escalate it, although I don’t have any de-escalation training or anything like that,” he offered. “And then it very quickly turned violent when he turned around and he started threatening me.”
The couple who had allegedly fled without paying the bill were part of a larger group which had run up the tab. Martin said they told him they felt disrespected.
“I was hoping it would just be a conversation and maybe being able to figure out why they were doing this and why they felt disrespected,” he said, but that was when things got ugly.
“He was saying a lot of pretty violent and aggressive things to me, specifically about wanting to knock me out and beat me up, telling me that I don’t know what he’s capable of.”
After the couple walked away, Martin said he and his colleague, who was behind the camera, followed them with the hopes of getting a licence plate number. He said the couple disappeared down an alley and they did not follow further.
Martin said they returned to the restaurant and the authorities were called. He says the police told him that there was little hope of identifying the suspect and that was when someone passed along the video to McWhorter.
“It only took like a day and he was identified. He called the restaurant and settled his bill, paid his bill and offered to apologize to me,” Martin said.
“I didn’t hear any apology or anything from him but he was identified and then the police got his information and he’s been charged.”
The restaurant told Global News that the $371 bill, including tip, was paid in full, the day after the video appeared on social media.
Police say a 38-year-old man from Brampton is facing charges of assault and uttering threats to cause bodily harm.
They also credited the video with helping them track down the suspect in the case.
Global News has confirmed the identify of the accused as Chad Alvia. He chose not to offer comment when contacted.
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