On Saturday, a man named Michael Cook walked into the Cricket Wireless store near 43rd Avenue and Bethany Home Road in Phoenix, Arizona around 5 pm. His casual entry at the location prompted a routine response from a female customer service representative, as she approached a man whom she believed was a regular consumer. Little did she know, this customer was about to turn her evening work shift into her worst nightmare.
"May I help you?" The Cricket Wireless customer service rep said.
The customer appeared to respond to the question in a very polite manner, before flipping the switch out of nowhere and striking the 22-year-old worker in the face, while in mid-sentence. He then leaped on top of her and unleashed a series of ferocious strikes to her face. As the worker sat up and backed up towards the wall, Cook continued the beating with several kicks to the body and punches to the face, all while she screamed in horror. The entire debacle was captured on camera.
The attack lasted for about one minute and afterward, Cook left his victim unattended before engaging in a shoplifting spree, snatching item after item, along with cash from the back of the store, before fleeing the scene. Thankfully, while Cook was busy collecting stolen goods, his victim managed to get to her feet and exit the shop, in order to place a call to law enforcement at the store next door.
“You could hear the girl screaming, the truth is it was very, very loud, and I stopped and grabbed the phone,” said Gracielca Cejudo, an employee at the store where the victim ran to, after being attacked. “I was in shock, I didn’t know what to do. She said just lock the door and call the police, and I grabbed the keys quickly as I could. There was a customer coming, so I quickly locked it...[Now] I don’t feel totally safe because I don’t know what these people are capable of doing."
Once officers from the Phoenix Police Department arrived, they were met by a very traumatized victim who also suffered an injury. "When [officers] got there, they found a woman bleeding with a laceration to her face," Sergeant Philip Krynsky said in a statement.
Cook remained on the run for three days, until authorities were finally able to apprehend him, with the help of multiple tips from various sources. When the cops arrested Cook, not only did he admit to administering the assault but they also found evidence of the aforementioned crime on him. The assailant was booked on Wednesday at the Maricopa County Jail. He now faces several charges, which include kidnapping, criminal trespassing, assault, and robbery.
For more news on this story, click the link above. But be warned, the video contains very sensitive material.
Source: Fox 10
