WESTFIELD, Ind. (WRTV) — Champion competitive eater Joey Chestnut will spend the next several months on probation after smacking a man who approached him for a handshake at a Westfield bar.
The ruling was filed in Hamilton Superior Court 4 on April 20, sentencing him to 180 days probation following Chestnut’s guilty plea to battery resulting in bodily injury.
According to a probable cause affidavit, around 2:30 a.m. March 21, a Westfield police officer took a report from a man claiming that Chestnut slapped him across the face.
The man told police that earlier in the night, he and a friend saw Chestnut sitting at the bar at Joe’s Grille sports bar in Westfield. The two recognized Chestnut for his hotdog-eating notoriety, and approached him.
While speaking with Chestnut, the man said Chestnut reached out to shake his hand. Then, after a brief handshake, Chestnut slapped him with his free hand.
Statements from the friend and security camera footage confirmed the smack, the friend adding that Chestnut kept asking him, “Why is your friend mad?”
On March 22, investigators spoke with Chestnut, who first said he was “pretty drunk and didn’t remember” the incident. The affidavit also says Chestnut asked police if the smack was “in a fun way.”
Detectives explained the smack hurt the victim, showing Chestnut the video. After viewing the footage, Chestnut commented he didn’t remember the incident, but “must’ve taken offense to something that was said.”
“There was something (the victim) said, but that reaction doesn’t seem right,” court documents cited Chestnut.
Battery charges weren’t filed against Chestnut until March 24. On April 17, Chestnut filed a plea agreement.
Conditions of Chestnut’s probation were not immediately available.
