JD Wagnon was assaulted in West Hollywood this past weekend. The incident happened while he was enjoying some pizza with a friend at ZPizza in the heart of West Hollywood’s LGBT Rainbow District this past Sunday, at 2:07 a.m.
“Hi West Hollywood. My name is JD. Many of you know me, but for those who don’t, I was assaulted over the weekend by a complete stranger,” he posted on his social media platforms. “On behalf of myself and the West Hollywood [sheriff’s] department, we need help identifying the guy who did this to me so that charges can be brought against him, so he has legal, social and financial ramifications for assaulting me. He, number one, tried steal food from me. When I said, ‘hey man, you can’t do that,’ he elbowed me in the nose as hard as he could with full force. He could’ve disfigured me for the rest of my life. It’s so upsetting to be hit by a complete stranger, especially after they try to steal from you. I am really disappointed by this happening, but I want to make sure that I remain active and make sure that this guy is charged so that he can’t do this to you, or your friends, or anybody else for that matter. Thank you so much for your help and as you can see, I’m healing quickly. I hope everyone has a great week.”
https://twitter.com/lovingweho/status/1560076275779194880
JD describes himself as proud Angelino for the past 5 and half years. He calls LA his home at the base of Runyon Canyon.
“I do frequent Weho nightlife,” he tells WEHO TIMES. “The suspect seemed super drunk. He was looming behind us not saying a word kind of rocking back and forth giving us major Captain Jack Sparrow vibes from The Pirates of the Caribbean. I thought he was just an innocuous drunk. He reached for my pizza, which was on the tabletop in front of me and my friend said, ‘hey, you can’t do that, you got to get out of here!’ The guy didn’t say anything. He just looked out of it. I turned around and said, ‘yeah man, you can’t steal my food. You need to go.’ And he started walking away, and then he surprised me by elbowing me in the nose at super close range, sending me back about 2-3 feet into the glass wall at ZPizza.”
He says he is still shocked by the entire event.
“My friend ran after him and pushed the guy and they both stumbled forward,” he said. “I pushed the guy down and I had two seconds of slow-motion awareness like a movie scene. In those 2 seconds I calculated, do I apply the 18 years of soccer experience I have to the back of his head? Do I reciprocate and jump on top of him and deck him in the face? Or do I not escalate and instead whip out my phone to document who this guy is so that authorities can deal with him?”
He chose the latter, more non-violent option. “A sidewalk hero wannabe ran up on me and got between us. I told him to get out of the way because I was trying to document my attacker. It was so frustrating because I chose to be non-violent, but I didn’t even get a clear shot of the guy.
JD says he’s never been assaulted in West Hollywood or has ever had an incident like this happen to him in his 30 years. “I have never been hit. It’s also because I’m a kind, nice person, and I don’t escalate things. This will definitely make me skeptical of drunk people. I think I showed the guy a little bit of compassion because he was so out of it. However, he was fully aware that what he was doing was wrong because he ran away afterwards. I do not wish any physical harm to him. I wish that the emotional and physical pain that I have felt is returned to him in the form of legal, social, and fiscal repercussions for his actions.”
JD says the incident happened this past Sunday, August 14, 2022, at 2:07 a.m. Footage provided by the owner of ZPizza West Hollywood shows the suspect inside the restaurant. He asks that if other bar patrons have footage of the suspect, to please report it to the West Hollywood Sheriffs.Â
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West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station polices the City of West Hollywood and the unincorporated communities of Franklin Canyon, Universal City (which includes Universal Theme Park, Studios, and Citywalk), and the Federal Enclave in West Los Angeles.
Thank goodness the owner of ZPizza was able to release photos of the assailant who attacked the fellow eating a pizza with his friend.Those photos should be forwarded to the sheriff department for review.I bet this guy has done this kind of thing before and the department might have a past incident on this fellow.
This attack is a BS one and simultanteously extremely serious. I’m glad it’s just a drunken lout not a robbery gang from Inglewood. If an attacker shoves upward with their fist it can shove nasal tissue into the highest functioning parts of the brain. “If a punch to the base of the nose fractures the vomer, it can be pushed back & up, thru the ethmoid plate & into the midbrain. This will end all higher brain functions such as consciousness. Additionally, there are several arteries in the vicinity, notably the Circle of Willis, whose rupture will cause a major… Read more »
There is nothing “bs” about having your nose smashed in while eating pizza with your friends. What is the point of your post? He didn’t die, so what? There was blood and a visit to the ER. What makes “this attack a BS one”? People these days.
He also said “extremely serious.” I think you are taking this wrong. I think he means, “this happened for no reason,” as in, not as an attempted robbery, etc..
It was worded very oddly, so I agree with NoHoWeho.