A convenience store clerk who was stabbed while on the phone talking to a police dispatcher remained hospitalized Friday in satisfactory condition.
Salt Lake police say Alvin Jorgensen, 48, realized he was about to be robbed when three men entered Rainbo Oil, 874 E. 1300 South, about 4:45 a.m. Thursday. One of the suspects apparently tried to distract the clerk at the counter while two others headed toward the beer cooler.Jorgansen called police dispatchers and said that he needed a police officer right away. He said he was at 1300 South, then stopped in mid-sentence, said Lt. Marty Vuyk.
The dispatcher next heard him say, "All right. All right." "The clerk then said something to the effect of help me," Vuyk said.
Jorgensen was stabbed with a hunting knife three times - once in the abdomen and once in each arm as he was on the phone. The phone line was also cut. The men apparently fled with some beer.
A newspaper carrier was pumping gasoline at the store and could tell there was trouble inside. He ran across the street to another convenience store and gave police the address. Dispatchers did not know where the clerk was calling from because he had not dialed 911, which automatically traces the call.
Police tracked footprints in the recently fallen snow to a nearby home and arrested three men. An 18-year-old was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of attempted murder. The other two suspects were interviewed and released. The county attorney's office will decide whether to charge them, Vuyk said.
Jorgensen was taken to LDS Hospital, where he was in satisfactory condition Friday.