Man in line at Jack in the Box robbed, beaten

Francesco Morales, Tribune

Mesa police arrested a man this weekend after he beat up a Jack in the Box customer and ran out the door with the victim's wallet.

According to a police narrative, the assailant then hid in a small transient shack near the restaurant, where he changed clothes and hid the wallet inside a mattress.

Police said the assailant, Jesus Alvarez-Martinez, then commandeered a bicycle and attempted to flee the scene. Police said Alvarez-Martinez first identified himself as Jesse Martinez, and court records list him as an illegal immigrant with a history of arrests.

Martinez, 25, told police he was angry at the victim for driving too close to the sidewalk along Southern Avenue, and he followed the victim to the restaurant about 4 p.m. Saturday to confront him “at the right moment.â€