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According to reports, a 49-year-old man was assaulted by a customer who allegedly attempted to dine and dash following a $425 meal. The incident, which occurred on May 29th, left the victim critically injured and hospitalized. He’s now showing signs of improvement after twelve days in a coma.
The owner and chef of Shogun Sushi, Su Wen, remains in critical condition following the attack that occurred on May 29th.
Shogun manager Raymond Ren said: “Yesterday, he tried to open his eyes but he couldn’t keep them open, and he seemed to go back to sleep. He can’t talk so we can’t tell if he can recognize his family.”
The suspect that struck Su Wen causing him to hit his head is 42-year-old Lucas Healey of Albany. He pled not guilty the next day and is currently being held at the Albany County Correctional Facility in lieu of $150,000 cash bail or $200,000 bond.
Healey reportedly dined with an unidentified female who left before the check and the situation escalated. After being presented with the check, Healey attempted to pay with a credit card but was only approved for $50. He then became agitated. Employees say he kept insisting he could pay the balance, even calling friends to ask if they would like to place an order for take-out.
After some time, Healey left the restaurant with several bags of food as employees followed him out the door. He can be seen on a security camera taking shots at the Shogun employees, food spilling in the process. At one point, Healey started to make racist comments such as “go back to your country.”
The incident continued to escalate when a female walking her dog stopped to intervene and used pepper spray on Healey. That’s when he went after Su Wen and hit him in the head with his fist.
Su Wen was rushed to the hospital where he had part of his skull temporarily removed for treatment.
Ray Ren, a manager at Shogun Sushi, in a statement: “He’s out of danger. Su Wen was recently moved from the ICU to general care, and his periods of consciousness are increasing…Currently, he is still relying on nutrient solutions for nutrition intake and is mostly bedridden. But at least his periods of consciousness have increased.”
A GoFundMe was set up by Chris Pratt, co-owner of the Lark Street Tavern located next to Shogun. The campaign has raised over $32,000 so far to help with medical expenses.
The GoFundMe campaign: “For those that work in the service industry it can be very rewarding financially, but benefits are not always common place. I would like to try and raise some money to help the family with medical bills. I was told by the manager of Shogun yesterday that his wife had to quit her job to tend to her husband. This whole thing is sickening. PLEASE HELP.”
Healey was still at the scene when police arrived. Healey faces charges including first-degree robbery as a hate crime, third-degree assault, theft of services, and drug possession.
The Shogun Sushi team remains optimistic about Wen’s future. “We can’t wait to welcome Su back to the kitchen,” Ren added. “In the meantime, we’re focused on his recovery and appreciate the outpouring of support from our customers.”
Healey has been charged with first degree robbery as a hate crime, assault, theft of services and two minor drug counts for allegedly possessing small quantities of cocaine.
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