Victim said he was invited to smoke weed at Merced home. Instead, he was attacked

Three teens were jailed Tuesday afternoon after they allegedly beat up a man they planned to smoke marijuana with, Merced police reported.

Officers responded to the 2800 block of Park Avenue for a fight about 9:30 a.m. Meanwhile, the victim called and said he was able to get away, police reported in a news release.

Police met with the victim, a 22-year-old man from Planada. The victim said he met three people at Merced College, and all four agreed to buy marijuana and smoke it. When they arrived at the apartment complex where they planned to buy the pot, two of the suspects began beating up the victim. The third suspect jumped in, and the victim was punched, kicked and stomped.

The three men took $200 and a vape pen from the victim before he was able to get away.

Witnesses pointed officers to the three suspects, who ran when they saw police. After a brief foot chase, officers caught the three suspects and returned the victim’s property to him.

The suspects were identified as 19-year-old Marcelus Jones and 19-year-old Alexander Stewart, both from Merced. The third suspect was a 17-year-old from Los Angeles.

The three suspects denied knowing anything about the assault and said they played basketball for Merced College. Police checked with Merced College officials, who said the three suspects did not play basketball for the community college. It’s unclear if the victim or any of the assailants are Merced College students.

Jones and Stewart were booked into Merced County Jail on suspicion of robbery and aggravated assault. The juvenile also was booked into Merced County Juvenile Hall on suspicion of robbery and aggravated assault, police said.

Booking records and mugshots were not immediately available.

This story was originally published August 23, 2017 at 4:28 PM with the headline "Victim said he was invited to smoke weed at Merced home. Instead, he was attacked."