Man and Juvenile Arrested In Connection with Alleged Shoplifting, Assault at Redding Gas Station
Above: Surveillance image of incident
Photos courtesy of Redding Police Department
A man and a juvenile were arrested following an alleged shoplifting and assault earlier this week in Redding.
According to a press release by the Redding Police Department, officers responded to an incident at the Circle K convenience store on Hartnell Avenue on Monday, Sept. 9, involving a physical altercation that resulted in a store clerk being injured.
Officers arrived at the scene around 5:52 a.m. and located the clerk, who had suffered a head injury. Police described the clerk’s injury as traumatic but non-life-threatening. Emergency medical services transported the victim to a local hospital for treatment.
Police say that two individuals, identified as 21-year-old Stephen Ooms of Bella Vista and a 15-year-old juvenile female, allegedly caused a disturbance at the store related to a shoplifting incident.
During the confrontation, the juvenile suspect dropped her cell phone, which was retrieved by the clerk. The clerk then called 911.
According to authorities, Ooms became violent after the call, using various improvised weapons, including a crowbar, folding knife, chainsaw, and fire extinguisher. He entered the store multiple times, allegedly damaging property and attacking the clerk, demanding the return of the juvenile suspect’s phone.
The clerk armed himself with a baseball bat for protection. During the incident, Ooms allegedly struck the clerk in the head with a fire extinguisher and directed racial slurs toward him.
Both suspects fled before police arrived. The juvenile suspect was arrested later that day in Cottonwood, and Ooms was taken into custody by the Anderson Police Department.
The juvenile was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and petty theft.
Ooms reportedly faces multiple charges, including assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats, vandalism, brandishing a weapon, and committing a hate crime.
