

Paul Johnston, CP24.com





The owner of a popular Toronto steakhouse said he “took things into his own hands” after he was accosted by a would-be robber outside his restaurant Monday.

Toronto police released video camera stills of the incident, in an effort to track down the suspect.

Two videos, titled “Smack Down” and “Smack Down 2” appeared online Tuesday and showed a suspect approaching Barberian’s Steak House owner Aaron Barberian from behind. Barberian was walking from one of his Elm Street restaurants to another carrying a till of cash.

Barberian was grabbed as he approached the door to his business.

“He tried to push me a little bit and grab the money,” Barberian told CP24 Tuesday afternoon.

After realizing the man didn’t have a weapon, Barberian said he decided to fight back.

“I grabbed him, basically, by the back of his jersey and kind of hockey-fight style dragged him around and ragdolled him and threw him to the ground a couple times,” he said.

The video shows what appears to be a cash register till spill into the street as Barberian and the suspect wrestle outside the restaurant. A third man, an employee of one of Barberian’s restaurants, can also been seen.

“If you watch the video, you’ll notice a very nice lady with a fur hat on – she gathered up all the money that she could and brought it back to us,” Barberian said.

The video also captures a second woman move onto the road and pick something up off the street.

“Later in the video, you’ll see a woman with black boots and red soles run out into the middle of the street and steal my cellphone,” Barberian said of the second woman.

“So really I was assaulted by one person and then had a theft by another.”

Toronto police continue to search for the man in the video, last spotted near Victoria and Gould streets.

He is described as black, 30 to 40 years old, with a medium build, and short black hair.

He was last seen wearing a dark shirt, jeans and runners.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-5200 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS (8477).