Newport man suspected of injuring store clerk

Newport Beach Police have a man in custody suspected of robbery and throwing a store clerk against the pavement, sending the man to the hospital with major head injuries, police said.

Police arrested Weston Scott Krueger, 28, of Newport Beach, at 6:10 a.m. Sunday at his home in the 7000 block of West Coast Highway, Sgt. John Hougan said. They identified and located the man with the aid of witness statements and video surveillance, Hogan said.

Just 14 hours earlier at 3:47 p.m. Saturday, a man fitting Krueger’s description entered the Sportsman Liquor Store in the 2600 block of Newport Boulevard and attempted to buy a pack of cigarettes, police said. The store clerk noticed the man had a magazine stuffed under his T-shirt and confronted him about the item, police said. The man ran out of the store, followed by the clerk who caught up with him soon after, police said. The two fought and the man quickly overpowered the clerk, police said.

The clerk sustained major head injuries, most likely from blunt trauma with the pavement, Hougan said. He was taken to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian Saturday and was unconscious at the time. Krueger was arrested on suspicion of robbery. He is being held at the Newport Beach City Jail and is ineligible for bail, Hougan said.

— Kelly Strodl