Jason Wahler: Not a Hitter, Just an Idiot

Former Hills star denies slugging a tow truck driver who's suing him for assault, but admits that he was drunk and belligerent

By Natalie Finn Nov 04, 2008 10:30 PMTags
Jason WahlerAlberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for SocalVibe

Jason Wahler admits to acting like a drunken ass. But not a violent drunken ass.

"I did not do that, I'm positive," the former Hills bad boy testified in his defense Tuesday, denying that he punched a tow-truck driver who is now suing him for assault.

"I was being an idiot," Wahler said. "I was running off at my mouth."

The 21-year-old troublemaker avoided two months behind bars last year by checking into rehab after pleading no contest to misdemeanor battery for getting nasty with plaintiff Dario Stevenson and L.A. City Traffic Officer Jonathan Wallace on Sept. 22, 2006. Wahler apparently took issue with the duo as they tried to tow a car that was blocking his route on Wilshire Boulevard.

It wasn't one of the aspiring actor's better performances: Stevenson and Wallace, both of whom are black, accused him of spouting off racial slurs in addition to taking a few swings.

Stevenson sued Wahler and his companion at the time, Kristen DeLuca, in August 2007, alleging assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. DeLuca ultimately agreed to pay $3,000 in restitution and was let off the hook.

But Wahler claims that he did not hit anybody and that Stevenson left him with a black eye and a broken hand that hasn't fully healed.

"We were in each other's face," Wahler said, referring to Stevenson. "We were just yelling at each other. That's when I started blacking out and really don't remember anything."

He said that he was forced to swerve to avoid another tow-truck driver at the scene, Jose Alarcon, and, when he got out of the car, they exchanged words. First Wallace, and then Stevenson, approached to see what was happening.

"I was heated and out of my state of mind," Wahler said. "I was very drunk" after downing three-quarters of a bottle of vodka.

"I'm not denying I called anybody names," he added. "I know I did that."

But, Wahler said, if he had hit Stevenson, it would have left a mark, and there was none. "I couldn't move," he said. "He had me pinned completely."

Stevenson later testified that he hit Wahler and wrestled him to the ground after the Laguna Beach bum slugged him and told him to "go back to Africa."