‘I relive it every day’: Woman violently attacked while working at cell phone store

PHOENIX (Arizona’s Family/Gray News) - An Arizona woman is recovering after being a victim of a violent attack while working at a Phoenix-area cell phone store.

Arizona’s Family reports Maria Coronado, 22, was working at a Cricket Wireless store on June 4 when Phoenix police said 33-year-old Michael Cook attacked her and stole cell phones and cash from the store.

“I have stitches from my eyebrow to my nose. I have like two fractured nose bones, and just mentally, I relive it every day,” Coronado said.

Surveillance video of the ordeal shows Coronado asking Cook how she could help him, and then he throws a punch that immediately knocks her to the ground.

At one point in the video, Cook is seen stomping on Coronado’s head. She said she was focusing on covering her face and not passing out.

“It felt like forever. I was screaming, pleading with him, and telling him to stop, but nothing would work. He was just so angry,” Coronado said.

The 22-year-old said she noticed Cook outside of the store throughout that day and he was just periodically opening the door. She said he was a previous customer as she had met him and his mother before but also knew him as a homeless person in the area.

“He was just opening the door to see if I was alone, if somebody was there, or just to catch me alone,” Coronado said. “I thought it was weird, but I just see him too often. I didn’t think he would do something like this.”

After the surveillance video of the attack was released to the public, Phoenix police said Cook’s mother identified him in the video and turned him into the Phoenix Police Department.

“I had met his mom before, and she was really sweet to me,” Coronado said.

Police said Cook admitted to trading the cell phones he stole for drugs. They also said his mother told them that her son is homeless and schizophrenic and not currently on medication.

Coronado said she’s worked with Cricket Wireless for four years, and this is the fourth time she’s been a robbery victim. She has also set up a GoFundMe to help with her medical expenses.

“I just don’t want this to happen to somebody else because it’s a lot to go through mentally and physically. Nobody deserves this at all,” she said.

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