Police tracked down the assailant in a Pike/Pine armed robbery early Tuesday morning only minutes after he fled to Cal Anderson with a pair of red Air Jordans, methadone pills and $40 cash reportedly taken in the mugging, according to SPD radio dispatches.

Medic crews rushed to 12th and Pike as the victim in the 12:30 AM incident was initially reported to have been stabbed but instead had suffered only a blow to the back of the head. UPDATE: According to a preliminary SPD report on the incident, the victim and a companion are homeless and were sleeping in an alcove along E Pine when they said the suspect asked them if they were drug dealers. The victim said the suspect stole the shoes, drugs and cash after he was told the two were not selling drugs.

During the first minutes of the police response, a patrol officer saw a man fitting the suspect’s description near the bathrooms in Cal Anderson. After the initial confusion over the victim’s condition, police learned the assailant had, indeed, fled into the park and had been carrying a 4-inch knife. The suspect was contacted, identified as the alleged attacker and taken into custody.

We don’t have details on whether a knife was recovered but police did find one of the ripped-off shoes on the grass inside the park. UPDATE: The preliminary report on the incident says a knife was recovered from the suspect by police.