Two sought in Merced robbery, assault

Police on Wednesday asked for the public’s help locating two men suspected of beating and robbing a 59-year-old man on Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Merced.

Officers responded around 7 p.m. Tuesday to Mercy Medical Center after the victim arrived at the emergency room seeking treatment for injuries suffered during the robbery, Capt. Tom Trindad said in a news release.

The victim told police he’d been driving in the 2100 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way when a pedestrian crossed the road in front of his vehicle. The victim was forced to stop his vehicle to avoid striking the man, police said.

Once the vehicle was stopped, a second man approached the driver’s window, brandishing a firearm. The victim grabbed the attacker’s gun and they began to struggle. The other man came from the front of the victim’s vehicle and joined the other attacker, Trindad said.

The victim was then pistol-whipped, but was able to drive away and took himself to the hospital, according to police.

Officers then received a call from Mercy advising that the hospital had a patient who had been a victim of a battery.

The robbers got away with some undisclosed property during the incident, police said.

Descriptions of the thieves were limited. Police said the attackers were black males in their 20s, but said the victim could not provide any additional details.

This story was originally published January 14, 2015 at 11:50 AM with the headline "Two sought in Merced robbery, assault."