SALISBURY — A Salisbury man told deputies he was knocked unconscious and robbed after he offered a man a cigarette Monday night.
But the investigation was short lived.
Authorities were called to Novant Health Rowan Medical Center about 9 p.m. when Gregory Lee Crawford, 36, told staff he was assaulted.
Crawford later told officers he was walking along Hawkinstown Road after visiting his mother. He was solicited for a smoke by a man near the porch of a home in the 1000 block, the report said.
Crawford said he handed the man a cigarette and was invited into the home.
But right after he walked in the door, the man “quickly slammed the door,” the report said, and two men knocked Crawford out with a metal object.
When he came to, the man said, one of the suspects was going through his pants pockets.
Crawford said he fled from the home across a nearby street and hid behind an abandoned home. He added that he lost consciousness and didn’t recall how he got to the hospital.
Deputies found blood near the front of the residence, the report said, and the home’s door was kicked in.
Officers said they investigated the home to see if anyone was inside, but found only a “large quantity” of blood in the front of the home.
Deputies said they followed a trail of blood toward the street, but the trail stopped at the road.
When asked additional questions about the incident, Crawford asked to withdraw the criminal complaint.
No one has been charged in the incident.