A Colorado businessman has avoided jail after striking a plea deal following an incident at an In-N-Out, where he was accused of grabbing a 15-year-old boy by the neck and throwing him to the ground for accidentally splashing water on his wife. Lucas Kalisher, 57, was sentenced to 30 months of probation for a violent outburst that was caught on video and later went viral.
The disturbing incident happened on August 4, 2024, inside an In-N-Out location in Loveland. Kalisher, a former CEO of Boulder-based private equity firm Summit Source Funding, was initially arrested and charged with second-degree felony assault involving strangulation, along with a misdemeanor count of child abuse.
Lucky Escape
Those charges were later reduced after he reached a plea deal with Colorado's 8th Judicial District Attorney's Office, according to a report by KDVR. As part of the plea deal, Kalisher is required to undergo an anger management evaluation and follow through with any recommended treatment.
He must also write a formal apology to the teenager, complete 120 hours of community service, and pay full restitution to the victim, according to the report.
If Kalisher does not comply with the terms of his probation, he could be hit with a class 5 felony, which carries a potential sentence of one to three years in prison, two years of parole, and a fine of up to $100,000.
According to reports, the teen had been joking around with two friends and splashing water when some of it accidentally landed on 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.
Unexpected Attack
The footage, posted to Facebook, shows Kalisher, then 55, confronting the visibly shaken teenager and demanding an apology. Moments later, he puts the boy in a chokehold and violently slams him onto the tiled floor.
"You don't treat a lady that way," Kalisher can be heard saying in the video.
The video was later posted by the father of one of the teens, who asked the public for help identifying Kalisher after his son's friend was "assaulted by a full-grown man."
Inside the restaurant, several customers spoke up, criticizing Kalisher for "picking on a kid like that."
Kalisher and his wife left the In-N-Out before police arrived. Later that night, however, he turned himself in after authorities issued a no-bond arrest warrant.
Court records show that in April 2025, Kalisher pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to the Loveland Reporter-Herald. He was subsequently released after posting a $75,000 bond.
