Man robbed, pistol whipped after leaving Roosevelt Way convenience store

Eugene emails to alert us to this police press release, which came out Friday. Here it is in its entirety:

Officers on Thursday arrested a 19-year-old man suspected of pistol whipping and robbing a victim earlier this month in the Maple Leaf neighborhood. Police are still searching for other men involved in the robbery.

The mugging happened shortly after midnight on January 5th. The 24-year-old victim said he ran into an acquaintance at a convenience store located in the 9100 block of Roosevelt Way Northeast. The suspect invited him to ride in a car with his friends and smoke pot.

After the victim got into the car, they drove around and smoked pot, ending up near Northeast 96th Street and 17th Avenue Northeast. Once they stopped, the driver and two passengers in the backseat (one of whom was the suspect arrested Thursday) got out and reportedly pointed handguns at the victim, ordering him out of the car.

They demanded his money, his cell phone and stole two necklaces around his neck. Then they threw the victim to the ground and pistol whipped and punched him until a passing car scared them away. A witness called 911 to report the beating. The victim was taken to Northwest Hospital for treatment.

The victim was able to identify one of the robbers, the acquaintance, from booking photos. Police tracked the suspect down and arrested him at the Northgate Department of Corrections office. He admitted being present at the robbery but denied participating. After getting a search warrant, police recovered two necklaces at the suspect’s home earlier this week. He was booked into King County Jail on robbery charges.