Oregon shoplifter sues grocery store clerk who stops him. The video shows why

An Oregon man who said his ravenous appetite drove him to steal food is suing the grocery store whose clerk allegedly assaulted him during the theft.

Joshua Merkel seeks $10,000 to cover mental anguish and medical expenses he suffered after two years ago he ran off without paying at a Southwest Portland grocery store with a cart full of merchandise.

The civil suit, filed last month in Multnomah County Circuit Court, comes months after Albertsons cashier Matthew “Dame” Cooper pleaded not guilty to second-degree assault in a criminal case stemming from the attack.

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

“I understand that I was committing a crime. I shouldn’t have done it, and if I hadn’t been there, stealing and starving, it wouldn’t have happened,” Merkel testified during the criminal trial. “But it 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 did not want to pay when she loaded her grocery cart at Albertsons on March 4, 2024, around 10 p.m. on Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway.

Cooper, the only employee working the register at the time, chased the thief into the store’s parking lot and tried to stop him.

Cooper’s arms swing wildly as Merkel drops the shopping cart, the video shows. The extent of the fight has not been characterized, but medical records submitted at trial show Merkel was treated for a broken jaw and black eye when she showed up at the ER a day later.

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

Phone numbers for Merkel were disconnected, and her civil attorney, Mark W. Potter, did not respond to emailed questions. Neither did Albertsons.

Cooper was a minor player in the far-right street brawl group Patriot Prayer more than a decade and a half ago, and in 2019 took part in the now infamous confrontation outside the aptly named Cider Riot bar. He also did not respond to requests for comment.

But a review of the civil case, court testimony and the trial piece together demonstrate how a run-of-the-mill shoplifting case quickly escalated into a retail war.

Mack McKnight, a Portland-based use-of-force expert and security guard instructor, said the case exemplifies the “lose-lose” nature of confrontations between store staff and shoplifters.

“Generally speaking, we don’t recommend punching people to reclaim property,” McKnight said. “But if the stores let the goods walk out the door, you’re going to go out of business.”

The assault charges stemmed from off-screen violence

Merkel’s robbery of a grocery store in the Bridlemile neighborhood was not notable for its audacity or sophistication. But we had to plan a little bit.

On the witness stand, Merkel said he told his girlfriend to pick out anything she wanted as they browsed the aisles. The pair ended up with a package of lunch meat, salad dressing, some frozen corn dogs, enchiladas and cream-filled cookies.

The girlfriend, Jennifer York, left the store and returned to her two-door Ford parked in a handicapped spot near the entrance. After signing a plea deal, the 44-year-old testified she had no idea what was about to happen.

Merkel walked out without paying and was wheeling the shopping cart outside when a voice shouted, “I’m tired of you stealing from my store!”

Surveillance video without audio shows Cooper, the cashier, following Merkel and apparently throwing punches. As the rest of the attack unfolds offscreen, one bystander bounces from foot to foot while another puts his hand to his forehead, as if in disbelief. The cart, unnoticed, rattles downhill.

By Merkel’s account, Cooper slammed the car door, “body slammed” the shoplifter to the ground and kicked him at least five times in the face. Merkel got into her car and her girlfriend went with her.

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

Cooper did not testify, but an officer said that Cooper called 911 that night and told police he had a “tug-of-war” as he surged with adrenaline in the cart.

Merkel went to the emergency room the next evening, where doctors found her with a black eye and a broken jaw.

During the criminal proceedings, Cooper’s defense attorney, Jason Stein, impugned Merkel’s credibility and said that the thief was nothing like Jean Valjean – the main character of “Les Miserables” who spent years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread.

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

“Here in Portland, we have a very good social network and a safety net for people who are starving or hungry. Mr. Merkel was not interested in all of that,” Stein said. “He was hungry for meth.”

(Merkel admitted to using the drug for about 10 years, but denied that it was for any purpose other than to get food.)

Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney Catherine Williams argued that Merkel was not on probation and that the attack was proven by surveillance footage and the testimony of two ER doctors.

“This is not a case of whether the victim is a good person or a bad person,” Williams said. “This is an issue of whether the defendant’s conduct was criminal.”

The jury had less than two hours to deliberate and decide it was not.

Shoplifting reports increased 240% in five years

Portland retailers have reported skyrocketing rates of shoplifting in recent years. Ironically, police say there may be a silver lining.

In 2020, city police took only 3,000 theft reports classified as shoplifting, according to the Police Bureau’s annual crime statistics. In 2025, the number had reached more than 10,300.

A police spokesperson attributes the 240% increase to strengthening ties between the bureau and loss prevention departments, noting that the biggest increase occurred in 2023 when officers began accepting shoplifting reports online.

Shoplifting was undercounted during the pandemic, as police were often tied up responding to spikes in protests and murders, while frustrated retailers stopped reporting crimes they knew would not be investigated.

“(We’re looking at) better documentation, not necessarily an increase in incidence,” said the spokesman, Terry Walo Strauss. “Our officials encourage retailers to continue to report so we can see trends.”

But the increase in shoplifting is unlikely good news, as retailers both large and small have closed shop in recent years and blamed the five-finger discount for the decision.

McKnight, an expert on the use of force, says employees should never try to defend a business from shoplifters.

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

But shoplifting will no longer be a concern for the Albertsons location. The company permanently closed its Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway store in July.

No court date has been set for Merkel’s case, although a clerk noted that it is eligible for arbitration.

More legal coverage

Read the original article at oregonlive.com. Add oregonlive.com as a preferred source by clicking here.