A Woodburn restaurant worker told police she recruited a homeless man from Portland to help fake an armed robbery last week and scare a female coworker so the colleague's husband wouldn't let her open the business in the mornings by herself, court documents say.

Chanh Boi Tran told Woodburn police that she didn't think it was fair to her friend Chung Liu Huang to work more than her husband and thought it was possibly dangerous for her to open Gina's Restaurant alone, according to a probable cause affidavit.

Tran said she never intended for anyone to get hurt but was inadvertently cut twice with a knife by Conan Dehut, the alleged accomplice, when he was waiving it around during the May 24 staged heist, the court papers said.

Tran, 47, explained to investigators that she found Dehut, 36, in Portland a day earlier, told him to go to the restaurant when Huang was opening, wrap his arm around her neck, hold a knife to her throat, drag her to the back of the business, pull at her clothes and put his hand over her mouth, the affidavit said.

Tran said she instructed Dehut that his signal to leave would be when she joined the fray and moved his hand holding the knife away from Huang's throat, the affidavit said. Tran would then offer Dehut money, he'd take it and leave.

At some point, Dehut was supposed to kick Tran twice to make Huang further believe the attack was real.

According to police, Tran bought Dehut a phone, offered him money to participate in the plot and they practiced what was supposed to happen the day before the robbery.

Video surveillance showed Tran dropping Dehut off behind the restaurant more than an hour before the robbery began, police said.

Dehut told police that Tran told him that she and Huang were sisters, that they had a sick mother and she wanted Dehut to scare Huang away from working at the restaurant and so she could aid their ailing parent, the affidavit said.

He reiterated that Tran instructed him to drag Huang to the back of the restaurant in the morning, but he said he never planned to hold a knife to her throat, the affidavit said. Dehut claimed Tran told him to tell Huang to take off her clothes.

At some point, while Dehut and Huang were at the restaurant door, Dehut claimed Tran appeared, pushed Huang inside and feigned struggling to keep him out, the affidavit said. He said Tran kept "giving him stern looks implying that he needed to do his part," the affidavit said.

He got into the restaurant, demanded money, kicked Tran as she instructed and took cash after Tran placed it on the floor. He denied cutting her with a knife. Police said she had a serious cut on her arm.

Police released an advisory the day after the robbery seeking the alleged assailant. The same day, police did a follow-up interview with Tran and she told them she'd "tell the truth," the affidavit said. She helped officers find Dehut later that day near Southeast 82nd Avenue and Johnson Creek Boulevard in Portland, police said.

Tran and Dehut remain held at the Marion County Jail. Both are accused of solicitation to commit second-degree kidnapping, unlawful use of a weapon and menacing.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey