Victim knocked unconscious after offering to pay for man's beer, police say

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A man was punched unconscious after he offered to pay for the beer of a customer who was ahead of him in line at a gas station convenience store, police said.

Sacramento County Sheriff's Department recently released surveillance images that show the suspect and another man walking into the Valero gas station at 1:55 a.m. March 24 to buy beer.

When the victim offered to pay for the suspect’s beer, he was punched in the face and lost consciousness for eight minutes, according to police. The suspect, a Hispanic male between 5 feet 4 inches and 5 feet 8 inches tall and who weighs 200 pounds, then took money from the victim’s wallet and left the store, investigators said.

"Something like this is extremely disturbing," Sgt. Shaun Hampton, with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department, told KTXL. "For someone to be knocked unconscious by simply offering to assist someone is something we look at as extremely egregious. Of course, we are doing our best to investigate."

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