Oregon shoplifter sues the grocery store clerk who stopped him. Video shows why

An Oregon man who said his insatiable hunger motivated him to steal food has filed a lawsuit against a grocery store whose clerk allegedly assaulted him during a sale. robbery.

Joshua Merkel is seeking $10,000 to cover medical expenses and mental anguish he claims he suffered after fleeing a Southwest Portland grocery store with a cartload of produce two years ago.

Civilian be fitThe lawsuit, filed last month in Multnomah County Circuit Court, comes months after Albertson’s cashier Matthew “Don’t Say” Cooper He was found not guilty of second-degree assault in the criminal case stemming from the attack.

Prosecutors argued that Cooper, now 31, violently beat Merkel, 45, in a confrontation outside the store that was only partially captured on surveillance video.

In her statement during the criminal trial, Merkel said, “I understand that I committed a crime. I should not have done this, and if I had not been there stealing and hungry, this would not have happened.” “But he went too far.”

[WATCH: Oregon shoplifter sues the grocery store that stopped him. Here’s what happened]

According to her testimony, Merkel had money in her pocket but never intended to pay when she filled her shopping cart at the Albertsons off the Beaverton-Hillsdale Expressway around 10 p.m. on March 4, 2024.

Cooper, who was the only employee working the cash registers at that hour, tried to stop the thief by chasing him in the store’s parking lot.

In the video, Cooper’s arms wave wildly as Merkel abandons her shopping cart. The extent of the fight was not disclosed, but medical records presented at the hearing showed that Merkel was being treated for a shattered jaw and black eye when she arrived at the emergency room a day later.

Cooper faced a mandatory prison sentence of nearly six years but was acquitted in September.

Merkel’s phone numbers have been disconnected, and civil attorney Mark W. Potter did not respond to emailed questions. So is Albertsons.

More than half a decade ago, Cooper was a member of the far-right street fighting group Patriot Prayer and a now an infamous confrontation In front of the aptly named Cider Riot bar in 2019. He also did not respond to a request for comment.

But a review of the civil case, courtroom testimony, and trial reveals what a picture is being pieced together. a common theft case quickly turned into a situation retail war front.

Mac McKnight, a Portland-based use of force expert and security guard trainer, said the case exemplifies the “lose-lose” nature of confrontations between store personnel and thieves.

“Generally speaking, we don’t recommend punching people to get their property back,” McKnight said. “But if stores let things go out the door, you’re going to close the business.”

Assault charge stemmed from off-screen violence

Merkel’s theft from the grocery store in the Bridlemile neighborhood was not notable for its audacity or sophistication. But it took some planning.

On the witness stand, Merkel said she asked her girlfriend to pick out anything she wanted as she surveyed the corridors. The duo completed their lunch with meat, salad dressing, some frozen corn, enchiladas, and a package of cream-filled cookies.

His girlfriend, Jennifer York, left the store and returned to her two-door Ford, parked for the disabled near the entrance. After signing the immunity from prosecution agreement, the 44-year-old woman testified that she had no idea what would happen.

Merkel left without paying, and as she was taking her shopping cart out, she heard a voice say, “I’m sick of you stealing (expletive) from my store!”

Surveillance video, which does not include audio, shows cashier Cooper chasing Merkel and apparently punching her. As the rest of the attack unfolds off-screen, one member of the audience jumps from foot to foot while another puts his hands to his forehead as if in disbelief. Unattended, the car clattered downhill.

According to Merkel’s account, Cooper kicked the car door shut, “body-slammed” the thief and kicked him in the face at least five times. Merkel got into her car and her girlfriend drove off with her.

“I didn’t want to fight at all. I just wanted some food,” Merkel told the court.

Cooper did not testify, but a police officer said Cooper called 911 that night and told police he was having a “tiff” over the car as the adrenaline was pumping.

When Merkel went to the emergency room the next evening, doctors found that she had a black eye and a broken jaw.

During the criminal trial, Cooper’s defense attorney, Jason Steen, blasted Merkel’s credibility and said the thief was anything but. Jean Valjean — The main character of “Les Misérables,” who was imprisoned for years for stealing a loaf of bread.

Instead, the defender suggested that Merkel’s real motivation was to trade some high-dollar items, including a package of T-bone steaks, for methamphetamine.

“We have a very good social network and safety net here in Portland for people who are hungry or starving. Mr. Merkel wasn’t interested in all that,” Steen said. “He was starving for meth.”

(Merkel acknowledged using the drug intermittently for about 10 years, but denied any purpose other than obtaining food.)

Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Katherine Williams argued that Merkel was not the person on trial, saying the attack was proven by surveillance footage and the statements of two emergency room doctors.

“This is not a case about whether the victim was a good or bad person,” Williams said. “This is a case about whether the defendant’s conduct constituted a crime.”

The jury needed less than two hours to deliberate and decide that was not the case.

Theft reports increased 240 percent in five years

Portland retailers have reported skyrocketing theft rates in recent years. Paradoxically, police say this might be a good thing.

In 2020, city police received just under 3,000 reports of thefts classified as shoplifting, according to the Police Bureau’s annual crime statistics data. By 2025, this number has increased to over 10,300.

A police spokesman attributed the 240% increase to strengthening relationships between the bureau and loss prevention departments. biggest increase It comes after officers began accepting burglary reports online in 2023.

Shoplifting was likely undercounted during the pandemic because police were busy responding most of the time. protests and a murder spikeWhile frustrated retailers stop reporting crimes they know will not be investigated.

“(We’re seeing) better documentation, not necessarily an increase in cases,” spokeswoman Terri Wallo Strauss said. “Our officers encourage retailers to continue reporting so we can see trends.”

But the increase in shoplifting is not pure good news, as retailers are both big and small to have closed shop in recent years and five fingers blamed the discount for decision.

McKnight, the use of force expert, says employees should not try to protect property from thieves.

“If you can’t win, don’t enter,” McKnight said. “If your job is to check groceries, then check groceries. If security is needed, hire a professional.”

But where Albertsons is located, theft will no longer be an issue. company permanently closed Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway store in July.

No court date has been set for Merkel’s case, although a clerk indicated the case was eligible for arbitration.

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