A man and woman are charged with aggravated robbery after stealing from a Famous Footwear in Roseville last month and pepper-spraying the employee who confronted them about it.
Authorities say it wasn’t their first time.
The Ramsey County attorney’s office on Tuesday filed criminal complaints against Dajoun Lamarr Coleman, 24, and Brandi Simmone Jefferson, 26.
According to the charging document, the two entered the shoe store in the 2000 block of Snelling Avenue Jan. 17 and walked toward the Nike section.
Coleman reportedly grabbed two boxes of shoes and then left without paying for them, followed closely by Jefferson, who was holding pepper spray in her right hand, the complaint said.
When a 17-year-old followed behind them to confront them about the theft, Jefferson sprayed him with the chemical before she and Coleman climbed into a Chevrolet Impala and fled the scene, according to the criminal charges. The incident was caught on video.
About a week later, the investigating officer got a call from a Maple Grove investigator who said the same couple had stolen products from an Ulta cosmetics store, but noted that in his case Jefferson had sprayed several people with pepper spray despite not being confronted by anyone about the theft first, according to the complaint.
Several of those hit with pepper spray went to the hospital.
A few days later, Coleman called the investigator and admitted to stealing the shoes, but said he was so drunk at the time that he couldn’t recall who he was with at the time or what happened afterward, according to the charges.
Coleman received a departure in a different aggravated robbery case he was sentenced in this past June and given credit for the 154 days in jail he served in the case and placed on probation for four years, according to the complaint.
Jefferson has three prior felony theft convictions.
Both Jefferson and Coleman were charged via warrant. No attorney was listed for them in court records.