Men arrested for assaulting clerk

Two 20-year-old men were arrested in Mountain View on Tuesday after allegedly stealing beer from a local convenience store and assaulting the clerk who attempted to stop them, according to police.

According to the police report, the men walked out of the 7-Eleven at 1951 Old Middlefield Way with two 18-packs of Budweiser each at about 2 a.m. on Aug. 20.

Sgt. Sean Thompson of the Mountain View Police Department said the brew thieves quickly crossed Old Middlefield Way where they reportedly met up with two other young men. That’s when the store’s clerk yelled at them to bring the beer back.

This apparently rubbed the men the wrong way. Although they were on the other side of the street, well out of reach of the pursuing clerk, they all decided to make their way back to the 7-Eleven, where they began cursing and throwing punches at the clerk and a witness, according to Thompson. They didn’t land any of their swings, and the clerk and witness retreated back into the store to call police while the four men fled with their beer.

Police canvassed the area surrounding the 7-Eleven, Thompson said, and it wasn’t long before one of the officers heard voices coming from the roof of nearby Crittenden Middle School. As police investigated the noise, they came upon a group of young men drinking.

Three of the men managed to flee, but one was caught. Police detained one man Christian Muir, a 20-year-old Mountain View resident, at the school.

A little while later, an officer canvassing the area stopped Michael Maduro, a 20-year-old Sunnyvale man, as he walked down the 1200 block of Farley Avenue carrying an 18-pack of Budweiser.

Both Muir and Maduro were arrested and booked into county jail on charges of robbery and conspiracy.