College Student Arrested For Wasabi Attack

JUNE 13--A Massachusetts college student is facing criminal charges after admitting he assaulted his girlfriend with a pair of jeans covered in wasabi sauce, an attack that the man claims was prompted when “some guy she slept with in school was texting her.”

John McGuinness, 22, and his girlfriend were returning early Friday from a Barnstable bar--where they had watched a Celtics game--when the woman received the text. The ensuing argument continued until the woman dropped McGuinness off at his home.

While driving to her residence, the 21-year-old woman got a text from McGuninness “stating that he had my $200 pair of jeans and he was throwing them outside,” according to a Barnstable Police Department report. McGuinness is pictured in the above mug shot.

The woman doubled back to McGuinness’s home, where he “came out to the driveway with my jeans covered in wasabi sauce.” She told cops that McGuinness “had my jeans by the waist and whipped me in the face with them. I got wasabi sauce in my eyes and they were burning and I couldn’t see.”

McGuinness, a Springfield College student, then tossed wasabi sauce inside the woman’s car. The victim told officers that after McGuinness threw her to the ground, she got back into her car and retrieved a bottle of water, which she used to flush her eyes.

Cops noted that the passenger side of the woman’s 2007 Toyota Camry “was covered in wasabi sauce.” The victim, whose clothing was covered in dirt stains,  had “visible red marks on her neck area” and “her right eye was visible red and swollen.”

After being arrested at his home, McGuinness was placed in a police cruiser, where he admitted, “I did put the wasabi sauce on her jeans but she has done worse to my car in the past.” Along with calling the woman “crazy,” McGuinness added, “Some guy she slept with in school was texting her. I want it known I am not drunk and she is.”

McGuinness was charged with three misdemeanors, including assault and battery “by dangerous weapon/sauce.” Free on bail, McGuiness is scheduled for a July 12 pretrial hearing. (2 pages)