A fourth-degree black belt and three-time world martial arts champion thought his fancy footwork would save the day, but one Virginia Beach cop’s tackle sent him crashing back to reality.
Timothy Allen Wegert, 33, of Monroe, Va., squared up to an officer early Sunday morning on the beach and unleashed what looked like a spinning heel kick… only to miss completely.
The cop didn’t miss. He sprinted in and drove Wegert straight into the sand in a textbook takedown. Three more officers quickly piled on to finish the job.
The jaw-dropping arrest video, captured on the Oceanfront in the 1300 block of Atlantic Avenue around 2:20 a.m. on July 5, has gone massively viral.
Wegert refused to comply when officers responded to an assault call. Instead of backing down, the former martial arts instructor and CEO of UpLevel Martial Arts in Charlottesville went for the dramatic kick in his distinctive black-and-white striped pants.
It didn’t work.
Shocking footage shows the long-haired suspect launching the high kick, whiffing badly, and immediately getting body-slammed. The pile-on that followed left Wegert flailing in the sand near the water as waves rolled in.
Wegert now faces a felony charge of assault on a law enforcement officer, plus misdemeanor counts of simple assault, disorderly conduct and two counts of obstruction of justice, Virginia Beach police confirmed.
Ironically, hours earlier on Saturday night, Wegert was seen mixing acrobatic dance moves with martial arts flair at Mahi’s, just blocks away on Atlantic Avenue. Witnesses described him as “having a good time,” “outgoing,” and “very nice”. even exchanging a high-five with one bystander.
By early Sunday, the mood had shifted dramatically.
Wegert was fired as CEO of UpLevel Martial Arts back in 2021 over conduct that reportedly included multiple assaults outside the business, according to a family friend and owner of the school. He had trained there since childhood and was described as a three-time world champion in martial arts.
Police say their investigation into the initial assault report is ongoing.
In the end, all the black-belt training, world titles and fancy kicks couldn’t beat good old-fashioned police work on a dark Virginia Beach night.
Cops: 1
Karate Kid: 0
Wegert is in custody. His mugshot shows a stern-looking man with curly hair, a far cry from the “nice guy dancing on the beach” from just hours earlier.
Another reminder that in real life, the spinning heel kick rarely ends the way it does in the dojo.
