PORTLAND, Ore. -- A former Comcast employee was found guilty Friday of attempted aggravated murder, robbery and assault in the beating of an employee of a Southeast Portland business last summer.
Michael Clarence Hagen testified in court Thursday he grabbed a baton and fake gun before demanding money from a clerk at a SE Portland check cashing business, then got scared when the victim reached for a cell phone. He said had no premeditated plans when he entered the building with a baton and fake gun.
Employees of a neighboring business found 37-year-old Nicole Loundree bound and gagged after being assaulted during a robbery at Ace Check Cashing at 7332 SE Powell last August.
Hagen was found not guilty of kidnapping. Sentencing was set for April 15.
Loundree testified Wednesday, and said she was blind in one eye from the attack. She was in court Friday as the verdict was read.
Police arrested Hagen for attempted aggravated murder, robbery and assault. Investigators said the found $3,000, a plastic gun and a collapsible metal baton inside the van he was driving.
Two employees from the Chair Outlet next door became concerned when they found their phone lines down. They went next door to Ace and found one woman talking to a Comcast employee.
She tried to indicate to them that everything was not OK and the two left.
Not long after, the men went around to the back of the business and said they heard muffled arguing and loud noises. When the two went inside they saw a female employee bound, with her mouth taped shut and bleeding from the head.
Loundree was behind a bullet-proof glass enclosure, and they were not able to immediately get to her.
Officers stopped two Comcast trucks near 67th and SE Mall St. and later arrested Hagen.
The suspect's family told investigators Hagen was going through tough financial times and had just received an eviction notice from his apartment manager. Court records show he's facing seven liens involving three different apartment addresses in Oregon.
