HOLLYWOOD — It was supposed to be a quiet lunch on a sunny afternoon in Tinseltown. Instead, an elderly customer got cold-cocked by a lowlife transient in a brazen daylight robbery, until a no-nonsense restaurant owner turned the tables with a picture-perfect tackle that’s now going viral.
Shocking surveillance video from Aug. 1, 2022, outside Raffallo’s Pizza on La Brea Avenue near Hollywood Boulevard shows the unprovoked attack in all its ugly glory. A 28-year-old drifter identified as Michael Austin Dona strolls up to a 64-year-old man enjoying his meal alone, rears back, and delivers a vicious sucker-punch to the face that sends the victim tumbling to the ground.
As the dazed senior lies there, Dona snatches the victim’s wallet and cellphone and bolts. But he didn’t get far.Timothy Ratcliff, owner of neighboring Shin Hollywood (a Japanese spot also known as Shin Ramen), was sitting nearby with his girlfriend when the assault unfolded right in front of him. Without hesitation, the quick-thinking restaurateur sprang into action.
“I saw it in slow motion,” Ratcliff later recalled. “He sucker-punched the guy right in his face, knocked him to the ground, took his cell phone and wallet and started running away. I ran after him.”
The chase spilled into the street, where Ratcliff, who has a background in martial arts, delivered a textbook takedown, slamming Dona to the pavement near a crosswalk. The pair tussled as the thief fought back with punches and bites, but Ratcliff pinned him down like a pro for nearly 10 minutes until cops arrived.
Ratcliff’s girlfriend jumped in to help, kicking and stomping the suspect while scooping up the scattered cash and stolen items from the sidewalk. Bystanders watched as the dramatic citizen’s arrest played out in broad daylight.
Dona was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault and felony robbery. The elderly victim suffered minor injuries, including damage to his glasses, and was treated at a hospital. Ratcliff walked away with bruises but zero regrets.“I’d do it again,” the hero owner said. “These things shouldn’t happen.”
