Two men clashed at a Southern California Wendy’s on Tuesday, throwing chairs at each other and pulling out knives.
The video of what happened inside the burger chain’s Northridge location has gone viral on social media and shows a Wendy’s customer holding a knife while another man grins.
Kyle Manfrey is booked into Van Nuys Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. But the 46-year-old content creator and author told The Times on Wednesday night that he believed he had been wrongly accused.
“I need to clear my name,” Manfrey said.
According to Manfre, he and his girlfriend had just finished Thanksgiving when a man who had been cursing at a Wendy’s employee suddenly moved within inches of his face. Manfre said he tried to leave the stall and keep some distance from them, but video footage showed the man wearing a hat blocking his exit.
“I was scared,” Manfre said, adding that he believed he saw a shiny metal object in the man’s fist. He later learned the metal object was the man’s key, but at the time, “I thought he was going to kill us,” Manfre said.
He denied using a blade. “I just waved it,” he said.
The roughly 3-inch knife was confiscated by authorities, Manfre said.
Police have released limited details about the incident, including the identity of the other man.
Witness Jesus Lepit told KTLA the man in the hat was arguing with employees when he approached a couple who were “minding their own business and having breakfast.”
“He hit the guy in the face,” Lepi told the station. He also saw chairs “thrown everywhere.”
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that an incident occurred at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday in the 18500 block of Devon Street.
Officer Charles Miller, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department, said officers received a call of a possible assault with a deadly weapon. Police arrived and found a man suffering from minor cuts and detained Manfre on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, a knife.
Miller said Manfre also asked to be taken to the hospital, where he was cleared and booked into the Van Nuys jail. According to Miller, Manfrey posted a $30,000 bail that day.
Manfre sent The Times several photos of his swollen and bleeding hands, which he said he injured while trying to stop a chair from hitting his face.
Manfre said he has an attorney but declined to name him.
A court hearing is scheduled for Nov. 17 at the San Fernando Courthouse, according to jail records.