Walking home from work with a midnight snack in hand, the unsuspecting victim never had a chance.
"You are going to see two males run up from behind, unprovoked and violently attack an individual to steal what ultimately turned out to be a bag of chicken," said Lt. William Reiber of the Aberdeen Police Department as he showed us surveillance video of the attack, "The prize was the bag, the white bag, that he was grasping in his hand."
Reiber says the victim walked a few blocks to the police department, and detectives immediately sought out the video of the assault.
Two hours later, police responded to a call for a fight where they found the pair of suspects still wearing the same clothing from the earlier crime.
18-year-old D'von Lincoln faces robbery and assault charges, while a 17-year old will face juvenile charges---all over a beat down for some fast food.
"You know we've seen this illustrated throughout the country---the potential for these types of violent actions... being punched, kicked... lead to death and very serious injury, and I don't want to minimize just how dangerous what these individuals did was," said Reiber.
Paramedics transported the victim to Harford Memorial where he was treated for bruises and scrapes, but police say such violence carries far more than a physical price.
"When you talk about the gravity of somebody's injuries, yes, they were superficial in the fact that they were to the face,” said Reiber, “Nothing that's going to be permanent, but when someone's violently attacked like that, it has a lasting effect, and that's really where it's so senseless to have your peace of mind shaken for a grocery bag in your hand."
If convicted on both counts, Lincoln could face up to 25 years behind bars on the robbery and assault charges----all to rob a man of about ten bucks' worth of chicken.
