Fairfax City Police arrested a New Jersey man Sunday night for assault and driving under the influence after a car chase that began when he allegedly threw a sandwich at another man outside a pizza restaurant.
Police say Jonathan M. Magnes, of Morristown, New Jersey, was arrested about 9 PM after an altercation that culminated in him allegedly hurling a sandwich at the, ahem, victim in the parking lot outside the Firenza pizzeria on Fairfax Boulevard. Magnes then fled the parking lot in a vehicle and was tailed by the 50-year-old victim, which attracted the attention of nearby police officers, a crime report reads.
When the chase ended, Magnes was found to be intoxicated and was transported to jail and charged with assault and battery and driving under the influence, police say. The victim was not injured.
There’s a wrinkle in here, though. While the police report describes the pizza restaurant as the scene of the altercation, Firenza only sells pizzas, salads, and sides, not sandwiches, the restaurant’s director of operations, Steve Schreiber, tells Washingtonian. Schreiber says the sandwich Magnes allegedly used was purchased from a 7-Eleven in the same shopping plaza.
Magnes was released on his own recognizance.
Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.
