ALBANY -- A young man was randomly attacked and robbed, then brutally beaten and left for dead as he walked near South Albany High School. Police confirm the attack happened on September 17.
"Somewhere between my girlfriend's house and my friend's house it happened," said Joshua Howland, 19, as he talked about the incident from his home. "I don't remember anything at all, just waking up in the hospital."
He also doesn't remember calling his mother, Debbie Braconnier, twenty minutes after the attack, around 9:40 PM.
"I heard this muffled sound. He wasn't talking coherently and I'll never forget," said Braconnier about the call from her son. She thought she heard him say 'I've just woken up and I think I've been beat'.
Police believe that Chancellor Wise, 22, jumped out of the bushes, robbed Joshua, beat him, then left him for dead.
Wise now faces first-degree robbery and second-degree assault felony charges. Wise was arrested after police got an anonymous tip three days after the attack.
"The scariest thing was getting to the hospital and the doctor coming out and telling me if he'd been unconscious any longer that this could have been fatal. No mother should hear that," Braconnier said through tears. "His upper lip and the bottom lip were swollen shut. He had dried blood all across his face."
Howland said the robber took him for all he had, just $4 from his pocket. Now Howland has $50,000 in medical bills. "I'm not really sure why he did it, it just doesn’t add up at all," said Howland.
Joshua's family is planning some fundraisers to help pay the bills, including a bake sale at the Albany Albertson's on Saturday, September 29 starting at 9 AM, on Waverly Drive SE.
The suspect will next appear in court September 28. He's being held in the Linn County Jail on $20,000 bail.
Wise has two prior felony criminal convictions for assault and possession of a controlled substance.
Courtesy KGW.com
