Three charged in Gonzaga-area beatings and Taser assault

Prosecutors charged three men with beating and robbing three people near Gonzaga University in July.

Two men and one woman told police they were walking east of the Gonzaga campus at 2 a.m. on July 10 when they were attacked by three men, including one who had a Taser.

One man was hit repeatedly in the head until he was unconscious and the second man was hit and kicked in the head when he tried to help his friend, court documents state.

The female victim told police that she was shot in the legs with the Taser several times and then groped by one of the men. The three men reportedly took cash, wallets and cellphones before leaving.

Caleb G. Townsend, Antonio J. Torres and Reed Alefteras have all been charged with robbery. Townsend has been in the Spokane County Jail since Aug. 3 on unrelated robbery and drug charges. Torres and Alefteras have not yet been arrested.

Surveillance footage recovered from a gas station at 901 E. Sharpe Ave. shows Townsend using one of the stolen credit cards that morning, according to court documents. He was accompanied by Torres and Alefteras.

Townsend admitted being present during the robbery but said Torres and Alefteras committed the assaults, according to court documents filed by prosecutors.

Torres told police that he saw Townsend beat a man that night. He said he checked to see if the man was dead before they left, according to court documents.

He told police that Alefteras met up with them at the gas station after the assault to give them a ride.