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Wisconsin Pizza Delivery Guy Gets To Meet Taylor Swift After He Saves Kidnapped Woman's Life
Steve Granitz/WireImage, GettyImages, @48hours/Twitter
Joey Grundl, a driver for Domino's Pizza in Wisconsin, is being hailed a hero after saving a kidnapped woman.
On September 27, 2018, the 24-year-old from Waldo, approached the victim's house to drop off the pie and Dean Hoffman, the woman's ex, answered the door.
That's when he saw the woman with a black eye standing behind Hoffman and silently crying for help.
Grundl told WITI Milwaukee:
"I gave him his pizza and then I noticed behind him was his girlfriend. She pointed to a black eye that was quite visible. She mouthed the words, 'Call the police.'"
Grundl returned to his car and promptly called 911.
When Sheboygan County Sheriff's Deputies arrived at the residence, Hoffman tried to block the woman from opening the door. Eventually, they were let in and arrested Hoffman when they saw the abused victim.
Taylor Swift eventually caught wind of Grundl's heroic act. Fans tagged her in pictures of Grundl being interviewed while wearing a hoodie from the singer's "Reputation Tour."
Grundl already planned to attend Taylor's concert in Arlington, Wisconsin, but his big reputation prompted the singer to arrange a meet and greet with him backstage.
Are you ready for it?
After being starstruck, Grundl tweeted on Saturday:
"She … she knew who I was."
He added jokingly:
"I'm thoroughly convinced Taylor gave me a cold."
On a serious note, he became emotional after reflecting on a crazy week.
"This has been one of the most exciting weeks of my life. I'm legitimately getting emotional and I almost never get like this. But as the likely most memorable week of my entire life comes to an end … I guess I can really say … I'm doing better than I ever was."
According to the Sheboygan County Sheriff's Office report, Hoffman, 55, had barged his way into his ex-girlfriend's home around 1 p.m. and tried to force her back into a relationship with him.
He allegedly punched her in the face, dragged her by the hair up the stairs, hog-tied her with a vacuum power cord and gagged her with a towel.
The 57-year-old woman told Hoffman:
"If you love me, you will let me go."
Hoffman reportedly replied:
"You know I can't do that."
He also told her he shouldn't have left his gun in the car so that he could shoot them both.
The victim later told investigators "she was sure she was going to die tonight."
A .22-caliber firearm was later found in the trunk of Hoffman's vehicle.
According to a criminal complaint, the two started dating in 2016 and lived together until August 2018. When they broke up, the woman moved into a new home – the location of Grundl's pizza delivery.
According to Newsweek, Hoffman was charged with kidnapping, suffocation, strangulation, false imprisonment and intimidation of a victim.
He is placed on suicide watch in the booking area holding cells after mentioning taking his own life to law enforcement and a suicide note left while he held his ex-girlfriend captive.
In addition to being a Swiftie, Grundl is also a fan of the Milwaukee Brewers. After being spotted wearing a baseball cap bearing the team's logo, radio host Steve Palec gave him a hero's welcome.
Well done, Joey!
Taylor Swift's new album Lover is available for pre-order here.
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