They let a stranger borrow their phone. In return, he punched them in the face

A Pasco man was charged Monday with punching a man and a woman after he borrowed their cellphone to make a call, then ran off with it.

Jose A. Cuellar, 24, is being held on $25,000 bail for the first-degree robbery charge.

He is expected to appear today in Benton County Superior Court.

The couple was sitting in a car near a Kennewick apartment complex on Nov. 1 when Cuellar approached them and asked to use their phone.

The husband and wife did not know Cuellar, but they handed over their Samsung Galaxy, court documents said.

Cuellar talked on the phone for several minutes, then suddenly took off running with the phone still in his hand, documents said. The couple started chasing him, then Cuellar turned and allegedly punched both of them in the face.

That’s when the wife heard someone yell, “Maniac, stop,” said court documents.

Cuellar ran into a nearby apartment, but walked away before police arrived, documents said. The couple told officers which apartment he had gone into.

Police spoke with two occupants but they were “uncooperative” and claimed they did not know Cuellar’s identity, court documents said. One person reported Cuellar was at the apartment earlier in the day complaining he had been hit with a baseball bat.

Officers noted that both the husband and wife had swollen and cut lips and bruises beginning to show on their faces.

Police determined Cuellar goes by the nickname “Maniac,” and they were able to show a photo montage to the couple.

Cuellar was seen riding a bicycle later that same evening.

When police activated the emergency lights on a patrol car, he took off on the bike and then running but then stopped and was arrested, said documents.

This story was originally published November 6, 2017 at 5:48 PM with the headline "They let a stranger borrow their phone. In return, he punched them in the face."