A deli owner took a baseball bat to a helmeted robbery suspect Monday evening in King City. The suspect fled empty-handed and the incident was captured on video.
It was the second incident in recent months caught on video at the Lil Brick Deli, located south of Tigard on S.W. Pacific Highway (Highway 99). A man with a knife robbed the business in January.
Security video shows a person wearing a motorcycle helmet and bright yellow safety vest entering the deli at about 7:40 p.m.
The suspect then tries to spray the owner, John Kim, with a substance as Kim stands behind the register. Kim throws an object at the suspect, who goes behind the deli counter and tries to get something from underneath it.
But Kim quickly fights back, grabbing a baseball bat and hitting the the suspect hard several times. The suspect gives up as Kim continues to swing away at him. The video shows Kim hit the suspect so hard that he broke the bat.
Eventually, Kim runs out of the deli, half a bat in hand, with the suspect running close behind. Moments later, the video shows Kim running back inside his store. He grabs a cell phone to make a call and goes back outside again.
Detectives with the Washington County Sheriff's Office said they found a helmet, the yellow vest and a cell phone outside the deli and are looking for the suspect. They did not say if Kim was hurt by the spray or during the fight with the suspect.
