New Jersey High School Wrestling Champ Accused In Bizarre Rampage
MANASQUAN, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Lukas Iorio was a high school wrestling champion and a good student, but now he has been arrested and brought up on serious charges.
Iorio's father told CBS 2's Lou Young that even he could not explain the wild crime spree.
"I'm sick to my stomach," said Tony Iorio. "You know, he's not a criminal; he's a kid who did something really, really stupid."
Iorio's son was arrested for his alleged involvement in a bizarre rampage on the Jersey Shore on Sunday.
"I'm perplexed," said Manasquan, New Jersey police Chief Elliot Correia. "People in the town are shaken by it."
Lukas Iorio, 20, a graduate of Bergen Catholic High School, was described by witnesses as wild-eyed and berserk as he allegedly attacked bystanders in Manasquan.
CBS 2 was told it started out as an unlikely carjacking. An electric buggy was being driven by two members of the Manasquan Beach Patrol.
Iorio allegedly kicked out the windshield, mugged the people inside the vehicle and threw them out, and stole it. Police said he was riding down the boardwalk trying to hit people as if he were in some sort of video game, police alleged.
"It's almost like he was role-playing, in, like, 'Grand Theft Auto,' with the way he took control of the vehicle – drove down the beachwalk aiming at people and hitting at least one person; crashing the vehicle," Correia said.
By all accounts, the behavior was out of character for the young student at Gettysburg College, who police said was legally drunk, but who refused a drug test.
Police said Lukas Iorio even broke into a beach house trying to get away.
"Once inside the house, there was a group of about seven that were struggling to subdue him before the officers arrived," Correia said.
Tony Iorio could not explain his son's alleged behavior.
"The kid's never, ever been in trouble before. The kid's a scholar athlete. He had a 95 average at Bergen Catholic," Tony Iorio said. "I don't know what happened."
Iorio faces charges including carjacking, burglary, assault, driving under the influence, criminal mischief, and resisting arrest.
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