Business owner reports knifepoint robbery

Point Place man attacked in his driveway

Kip Diacou says he was robbed in the driveway of his Point Place home early Monday morning. He said nearly every neighbor he knows has been burglarized in the past couple of years. 'These poor neighbors. They have these lights on all night and they are afraid to leave their homes.'

Kip Diacou says he had just stepped out of his sport utility vehicle in the driveway of his Point Place home when he felt someone put a knife to his neck early Monday.

A self-described tough guy, Mr. Diacou, a Marine Corps veteran and Toledo business owner, does not credit his martial arts training for staying alive.

"Had they had a real gun, they would've killed me," said Mr. Diacou, 67.

He said that as he felt the tip of the knife touch his skin, he saw a second man standing nearby with a gun -- one in retrospect he believes was fake or nonfunctional -- in his hand. Mr. Diacou told The Blade that the man with the knife hit him on the face, put his hands on his throat, and started to strangle him. Mr. Diacou said the last thing he remembered before he passed out was being unable to breathe, hitting the assailant in the groin, and stamping on his foot, he told The Blade less than 12 hours after the incident.

According to a Toledo police report, Mr. Diacou was first assaulted and then robbed of about $220 in cash.

When he came to a minute or two later, he said, he felt lucky because he was alive. Just before the attack, he had been working and then stopped at a grocery store, not returning home until 4:30 a.m.

He said he hopes police will find the culprits because the incident was likely caught on video surveillance cameras that he has at his home, he said. He was at work Monday and had not yet had a chance to review the tapes.

Mr. Diacou said he is not the only crime victim in the neighborhood. He said nearly every neighbor he knows has been burglarized in the past couple of years.

"These poor neighbors. They have these lights on all night and they are afraid to leave their homes," he said.

According to a police report, authorities did not have a good description of the assailants because they wore hoodies.

Both were described as black males, about 5 feet, 8 inches tall, according to the police report.

One had a had a tattoo on his face.

Mr. Diacou served in the Marines from 1965 until 1971. when he was honorably discharged with the rank of private first class. He had since been in the liquor business in Toledo, he said.

He owns the Sixpack, a sports bar at 3223 Sylvania Ave. He also owns nightclubs including Club Soda, 3922 Secor Rd., Asteria, 710 S. Reynolds Rd., Clamdiggers of Toledo, 2605 Broadway, and Wild Hog saloon, 1260 W. Alexis Rd.

He said he does not know whether the attack could have been business related.

Contact Mike Sigov at: sigov@theblade.com or 419-724-6089.