Charges: Shoplifter Steals From Blaine Pacsun, Drives Off With Employee Atop Car After Confrontation
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 22-year-old woman accused of stealing from a store at the Northtown Mall in Blaine got into a confrontation with an employee in the parking lot that sent the worker to the hospital.
According to a criminal complaint, Ronaeja Rochelle Lyneis Porter shoplifted less than $500 in property from a Pacsun store on Friday.
The complaint says an employee at the store followed Porter out into the parking lot, confronting her while dialing 911.
The complaint says the store employee then "grabbed Porter's wallet inside her open purse to look for identification."
At the same time Porter allegedly grabbed the employee's phone and threw it on the ground, according to investigators, before running towards a red Ford Fusion that was missing a rear license plate.
The store employee moved to the front of the car to look for a license plate there. At this point the employee was making "direct eye contact with Porter as Porter drove the car at the employee," according to the complaint.
Investigators say the employee jumped onto the hood of the car to avoid being hit, and the court documents allege that Porter then drove at a "high rate of speed for several hundred feet until making an abrupt turn," and throwing the person confronting her off the car and onto the pavement.
The victim suffered injuries in the incident and was taken to Mercy Hospital.
Porter did not stop at the scene. She was located by local police several minutes later, on foot, about a block away from the red car.
Porter has denied shoplifting from the store. Now she's charged with one felony count of second-degree assault, one gross misdemeanor count of criminal vehicular operation and a misdemeanor count of fourth-degree criminal damage to property. She could face up to seven years in prison on the assault charge.
