PORTLAND, Ore. — An Oregon man who was foiled in a shoplifting attempt at a Portland grocery store two years ago has filed a civil lawsuit against the store and the security guard who allegedly attacked him.

Joshua Charles Merkel, 45, filed suit in Multnomah County Circuit Court on March 2 against Albertsons and its security guard, KOIN reported. Merkel is seeking $10,000 to cover medical expenses and mental anguish he claims was inflicted after he left the store with a cart full of merchandise without paying on March 4, 2024, according to The Oregonian.

According to the complaint, Albertsons is accused of failing to reasonably select and train its employees, including the security guard, KOIN reported.

The civil suit comes months after Albertsons employee Matthew “Deme” Cooper, 31, was found not guilty of an assault charge in a criminal case relating to the attack, the newspaper reported.

Cooper had been indicted but was found not guilty by a jury of one count of second-degree assault in September 2025, KOIN reported.

Prosecutors had argued that Cooper had violently beaten Merkel after confronting him outside the store that was only partially captured on surveillance video, The Oregonian reported.

“I understand I was committing a crime. I shouldn’t have done it, and it wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been there, stealing and hungry,” Merkel testified during the criminal trial, according to the newspaper. “But it went way too far.”

Merkel was charged in October 2024 with one count of third-degree theft, a misdemeanor, the case remains open and is unresolved, KOIN reported.

According to his testimony at the criminal trial, Merkel had money in his pocket but never intended to pay when he loaded up his grocery cart at the Albertsons store at about 10 p.m. PT, The Oregonian reported.

Cooper attempted to stop Merkel, chasing him through the parking lot, according to court records.

The extent of the physical contact between the two men was unclear, but medical records introduced at the criminal trial indicated that Merkel received treatment for a shattered jaw and a black eye when he visited an emergency room the day after the alleged confrontation, according to The Oregonian.

Telephone numbers for Merkel were disconnected, and his civil attorney, Mark W. Potter, did not respond to emailed questions from the newspaper. Cooper and officials from Albertsons also have not commented.

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