Man wanted for attacking an Asian American family at drive-thru in L.A.
Los Angeles police are looking for 31-year-old Nicholas Weber who is accused of making racist remarks, threatening, and physically assaulting an Asian American family at a McDonald’s drive-thru in North Hollywood, California. The attack was caught on camera and happened around 10p on May 13th.
47-year-old Patricia Roque, and her daughter, 19-year-old Nerissa Roque, were in their car at the McDonald’s drive-thru when Weber allegedly struck their car. Weber then proceeded to shout racial slurs with a mocking accent, ultimately shouting, “I’ll kill you!”
The Roque family, who is of Filipino descent, then pulled over to a parking spot as they waited for police and Patricia’s father, Gabriel Roque. “As soon as the man noticed my dad, he started grabbing him with his bare hands and started pushing him and he fell to the concrete ground and his upper body hit the curb,” Patricia said to NBC Los Angeles. Gabriel Roque is now recovering from a broken rib.
The video also shows Weber choking Nerissa. She says that if bystanders had not stepped in to help the family, she’s certain she would be dead.
Weber was cited, released, and ordered to show up in court on June 8th but he failed to appear. Now, the Roque family is demanding justice because Weber is still a free man, and they feel that authorities have not taken this case seriously.
"This was the most traumatic experience of our lives. I feared that the suspect would kill us because of what we looked like — because we are Asian," Patricia Roque said in a statement. "We are demanding a full investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department and demand that this case be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Weber is charged with two counts of felony battery with hate crime allegations. A bench warrant has been issued for his arrest and his bail has been set at $250,000.