BEATING TALE HAS STRANGE ENDING

Alleged Assailants Offered Their Victim Painkillers Before Driving Him Home

Authorities in Josephine County are looking for four men they believe
kidnapped a Williams man Sunday afternoon, beat him with an ax handle
and then gave him medication for the pain.

The 35-year-old victim told Josephine County sheriff's deputies that
four men he knew burst into his [redacted] home at about noon Sunday
and accused him of stealing their medical marijuana, the sheriff's
office reported in a press release Monday.

The assailants beat him with an ax handle while holding a handgun and
a shotgun on him, then forced him into a vehicle. They drove him to
two undisclosed locations in Grants Pass, gave him some Vicodin, then
took him home, said Josephine County sheriff's Detective Sgt. Ken Selig.

The victim, who suffered cuts, scrapes and blackened eyes, went to a
neighbor's house to call for help around 5:45 p.m. Sunday. He was
taken by American Medical Response ambulance to Three Rivers
Community Hospital in Grants Pass, where he was treated and released.

Deputies interviewed the victim and got the first names of the
assailants. The group all knew one another casually and likely had
used drugs together in the past, Selig said.

Deputies went to the home of one of the identified suspects,
[redacted]. [redacted] fled out a back door into the woods, but
officials seized his vehicle and other evidence of the altercation,
Selig said. [redacted] has a medical marijuana card and had reported
a theft of his marijuana to police.

Selig said [redacted] phoned investigators Monday and told them he
plans to come in with an attorney to discuss Sunday's incident.
Officials also hope to track down [redacted] and two men identified
only as [redacted].

"We'd love to hear from them," Selig said. "We know something
happened, but we've only heard one side of the story. We hope people
will cooperate."

Detectives are continuing the investigation and ask anyone with
information about the reported kidnapping and assault or the
whereabouts of the suspects to call police. Reach the case detective
at 474-5153, Ext. 3523, or call the department's confidential tip
line at 474-5160.