A Former Martial Arts Instructor’s Unusual Encounter with Law Enforcement
A former black belt martial arts instructor found himself in an unexpected and dramatic situation on the Fourth of July weekend. The incident, captured on video, shows Timothy Allen Wegert, 33, attempting to strike a police officer with a spinning kick in Virginia Beach on July 5 at around 2:20 am.
The footage reveals that Wegert, who was shirtless and wearing black-and-white striped pants, tried to clock a police officer with a powerful kick. However, the officer managed to duck just in time and tackled Wegert. Soon after, three other officers arrived to assist in taking him into custody, repeatedly instructing him to put his hands behind his back.
Bill Peters, a family friend, identified Wegert as the former chief executive officer and master instructor of the UpLevel Martial Arts academy in Charlottesville. “I know him very, very well,” Peters told the Virginian-Pilot. “It’s a shame.” An old LinkedIn profile indicated that Wegert was a three-time world champion martial artist, which Peters confirmed.
The video of Wegert’s attempted kick on the police officer, posted by Shore Drive Shuffle, had been viewed more than 167,000 times as of Tuesday night.
Wegert has been charged with felony assault on a law enforcement officer. He also faces misdemeanor charges of simple assault and disorderly conduct, as well as two counts of obstruction of justice.
Peters added that Wegert had a “nice family” but did not share more details about his relationship to them. He claimed Wegert had been fired from his CEO job in 2021 because of his conduct outside of the company, which Peters alleged included several assaults.
Virginia judiciary records showed that Wegert had been found guilty of a felony bomb threat in November 2023 and sentenced to 10 years in prison, but with eight years and six months suspended. Wegert was also found guilty of misdemeanor stalking around the same time, according to Fluvanna Circuit Court records viewed by the Daily Mail. He was released from supervised probation on April 23 of this year, records show.
Peters added that Wegert had recently been working as a dance instructor. Wegert’s public social media activity on Instagram and Facebook showed him in several dancing videos and touting his skills. “If you want to take your dance to the next level, I’d love to assist,” he wrote in one post. In a separate video, Wegert and a female student danced at a crosswalk as cars waited for the stoplight to change colors.
One of Wegert’s last social media posts before his arrest was made on June 30. He tagged Virginia Beach as the location.
Wegert was captured around 9:15 pm on the night of his arrest a few blocks down Atlantic Avenue from where he was arrested. Video footage, which was recorded by 42-year-old Casey Bunce, showed Wegert at Mahi’s, a beachfront eatery in the area. Bunce said that Wegert, who he had already seen at the beach one day prior, appeared to be “just dancing and having a good time.”
“He’s definitely an outgoing character but seems very nice,” Bunce told the Virginian-Pilot. Wegert interacted with Bunce just hours before he was eventually taken into custody. “After I recorded the video I gave him a high five,” Bunce recalled. “He said, ‘Thank you brother,’ so he wasn’t aggressive at all.”
The Daily Mail has reached out to the Virginia Beach Police Department and Sheriff’s Office for comment. It was not immediately clear if Wegert had obtained legal representation.
