The Colorado executive avoided jail time after reaching a plea deal in the assault case that went viral.
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A Colorado businessman who grabbed a 15-year-old boy by the neck and slammed him to the floor after water was splashed on his wife inside an In-N-Out restaurant has avoided serving time behind bars through a plea agreement.
Lucas Kalisher, 57, received 30 months of probation on Monday for the assault, which was caught on video and later spread widely online. The incident took place at a Loveland, Colorado, In-N-Out location on August 4, 2024.
Lucas Kalisher was captured on video grabbing a teen boy by the neck and throwing him to the floor during a brawl inside a Colorado In-N-Out on Aug. 4, 2024.
Facebook / Domonique Alire
Kalisher, who previously served as CEO of Boulder-based private equity firm Summit Source Funding, was first arrested on charges that included second-degree felony assault involving strangulation and misdemeanor child abuse. He later reached a plea agreement with Colorado’s 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office, according to KDVR.
Under the terms of the agreement, Kalisher must complete an anger management evaluation and follow through with any recommended treatment. He is also required to write a letter of apology to the teenager, complete 120 hours of community service, and pay restitution to the victim.
If he does not meet the conditions of his probation, he could face a class 5 felony charge. That charge carries a possible sentence of one to three years in prison, two years of parole, and a fine of up to $100,000.
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Police said the teen had been "engaging in horseplay by splashing water" with two friends before he "accidentally splashed" Kalisher’s wife.
"The juvenile male approached her table to apologize when an adult male accompanying the woman suddenly grabbed him, placed both hands around the front and back of his neck, pulled him down to the table and threw him backward onto the floor," Loveland police said.
The teen was reportedly “engaging in horseplay by splashing water” with his two friends before he “accidentally splashed” Kalisher’s wife.
Facebook / Domonique Alire
Lucas Kalisher and his wife fled the restaurant before cops arrived but he surrendered to police later that night.
Facebook / Lucas Kalisher
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Video footage later shared on Facebook shows Kalisher, who was 55 at the time, demanding that the teenager apologize. Moments later, he placed the boy in a chokehold and threw him backward onto the tiled floor.
"You don't treat a lady that way," Kalisher said.
The father of one of the teens later posted the footage online and asked the public for help identifying Kalisher, after his son’s friend was "assaulted by a full-grown man."
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Other customers inside the restaurant criticized Kalisher for "picking on a kid like that."
Kalisher and his wife left the restaurant before police officers arrived. Later that evening, after a no-bond arrest warrant was issued, he turned himself in to authorities.
In April 2025, Kalisher entered a not guilty plea to the original charges, according to the Loveland Reporter-Herald. He was released after posting a $75,000 bond.