BREAKING NEWS

A liquor store clerk injured after an alleged shoplifter was accused of picking him up and throwing him to the ground has died, leading police to upgrade the crime from strong-arm robbery to homicide, authorities said Monday.

On Saturday afternoon, Hao Quang Huynh, the Sportsman’s Liquor Store clerk, confronted Weston Scott Kruger, 28, of Newport Beach, after he allegedly stuffed a magazine up his T-shirt, police said. Kruger ran out of the store and Huynh chased after him, according to police.

Kruger, who is much larger than Huynh, picked him up and hurled him down, police said. Huynh suffered a head injury that he later succumbed to on Sunday at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian.

Kruger was initially booked on suspicion of robbery and was being held at the Newport Beach Jail on a no-bail warrant. He is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.