ALBANY -- A young man was randomly attacked and robbed, then brutally beaten as he walked near South Albany High School earlier this month.
Police believe that Chancellor Wise, 22, jumped out of the bushes, robbed Joshua Howland, beat him, then left him injured on September 17.
"Somewhere between my girlfriend's house and my friend's house it happened," said Howland, 19, as he talked about the incident from his home. "I don't remember anything at all, just waking up in the hospital."
Wise was arrested on first-degree robbery and second-degree assault felony charges after police got an anonymous tip three days after the attack.
Howland said he did not remember calling his mother, Debbie Braconnier, 20 minutes after the attack, around 9:40 p.m.
"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."
"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 - $4 in 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.
Howland's family planned some fundraisers to help pay for the bills, including a bake sale at the Albany Albertson's on Saturday, Sept. 29 starting at 9 a.m., on Waverly Drive SE.
The suspect was scheduled to 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.
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KGW Reporter Abbey Gibb contributed to this report.
