Accused coffee stand stick-up artist busts himself!

It might have been the perfect petty crime – if only he hadn’t flagged down police officers afterward …

This Dutch Brothers Coffee store must have looked like an easy target for the man intent on robbery.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton
When a man walked up to the Dutch Brothers Coffee hut in Powellhurst-Gilbert on Sunday night, January 26, he quickly made it clear he wasn’t stopping by for a quick pick-me-up. It was about 9:30 p.m.

Workers at the shop, at 13640 SE Division Street in outer East Portland, were able to give the arriving Portland Police Bureau (PPB) East Precinct officers a good description of the suspect: A thin white male, about 6 foot tall, with crooked nose and heavy acne scarring on his face.

Officers fanned out throughout the blocks near by, hoping to spot the man, described as wearing an orange zebra-print jacket, a dark green jacket, and a white bandana.

“Several officers, including a Police K-9, searched the neighborhood but did not locate anyone matching the suspect’s description,” said PPB Public Information Officer Sgt. Pete Simpson. But then their luck changed.

By dawn, following the night of the crime, a suspected robber is being booked into jail.

Approximately 15 minutes after police cleared the neighborhood perimeter, Simpson said, a young man flagged down an officer – to report that he’d been robbed.

“The officer recognized that the man closely matched the description of the Dutch Brothers robbery suspect,” Simpson said. “After further investigation, the man, later identified as 23-year-old Matthew Paul Stockwell was, in fact, identified as the robbery suspect, and he was subsequently arrested.”

This man, 23-year-old Matthew Paul Stockwell, remains in jail on charges of Second Degree Robbery – after sort of “turning himself in” to police.

PPB Robbery Detectives believe that Stockwell discarded his colorful outer attire, as well as the cash proceeds from the robbery, along SE Division Street, between SE 139th and 145th Avenues. His motive in then contacting the police remains unclear.

Anyone finding any such items should call the non-emergency line at (503) 823-3333; Detective John Russell at (503) 823-0464; or, Detective Ken Reynolds at (503) 823-0407.

Stockwell was booked in to the Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC) at 4:45 a.m. on a charge of Robbery in the Second Degree and was arraigned the following day. He remains at MCDC in lieu of $250,000 bail.

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