A 31-year-old Saint Paul woman is facing a first-degree aggravated robbery charge after police say she stole a can of pepper spray from a Maplewood auto parts store and punched the store manager in the face twice while making her escape. Joce’Ylnn Renae Mapps allegedly fled on foot before officers caught up with her entering a nearby tobacco shop, where she struggled with police before being detained.
According to MN CRIME, police responded to a robbery call at the auto parts store on September 24, and the criminal complaint lays out a chaotic sequence of events. The store manager reportedly told Mapps to place her bags on the counter, which she did, but she declined her offer of help and warned her not to follow her. She then grabbed a can of mace from a shelf, tucked it into her back pocket, and threatened the manager before punching her in the face a second time and pushing through the door with her bags and the stolen item still on her.
Employee Intervenes as Suspect Flees
Another employee who heard the argument reportedly tried to stop Mapps from leaving the store, but she got away and made it to a nearby tobacco shop before police caught up with her. Officers found her struggling as they moved to detain her, and the store manager later identified her during a show-up identification, the outlet’s report states. When police searched her bags, they found the stolen pepper spray still in its original packaging.
After being read her rights, Mapps admitted to being inside the auto parts store and acknowledged grabbing the store’s mace, according to the same account. But she offered a different version of how the punches happened — she told police the manager started punching her first, and that she swung back to protect herself, accidentally hitting him in the face. She also told officers she left the store with just one item before heading to the tobacco shop.
Why a Shoplifting Case Became a Serious Felony
The distinction between what happened in that Maplewood store and a run-of-the-mill shoplifting case comes down to a single legal threshold: bodily harm. Under Minnesota Statute § 609.245, Subdivision 1, a person who commits a robbery while armed with a dangerous weapon or who inflicts bodily harm on another is guilty of first-degree aggravated robbery, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $35,000…