Tumwater woman allegedly steals from store, assaults employee

Claims she was returning to pay

Posted

A Tumwater woman was arrested after allegedly stealing food from a store and attacking an employee who confronted her for attempting to leave without paying.

Tumwater police arrested Jaclyn T. Wilson, 44, on May 19 after a reported robbery at the Speedway Express on Trosper Road Southwest.

A store employee told police that she was working when Wilson came in and began gathering items totaling $39, including bags of chips, a sandwich, soda, and an alcoholic beverage. Wilson then walked out of the store without paying, the employee said.

The suspect was described as also having a dog with her.

The employee confronted Wilson in front of the store and grabbed a bottle out of the suspect’s hands. Wilson responded by shoving the employee, according to the police report. A physical altercation broke out, with Wilson allegedly pulling the employee’s hair and punching her in the head.

The police report noted that the employee had an abrasion on her left elbow as well as redness on her right knee and lower leg. She declined medical attention. The employee also had pieces of hair coming out of her ponytail and food and dirt on her that was consistent with being in a scuffle on the ground.

Just minutes before this incident, the owner of The Brick, a nearby restaurant, called police to report Wilson’s disorderly behavior at his establishment. The owner called authorities a second time after witnessing Wilson assault a Speedway Express employee.

Police later found Wilson walking near a bank on Trosper Road. An officer stated that the suspect ignored requests to talk, and told them “no” when asked again. She continued to walk away even after authorities told her that she was not free to go, according to the police report.

After Wilson continued to walk away, an officer told Wilson to stop and when the officer grabbed for Wilson’s right arm, she responded, "Don`t touch me. What are you doing?" Wilson resisted officers’ attempts to detain her by tensing her body and pulling away from them, prompting police to take her down to the ground and handcuff her.

The police said that Wilson became unresponsive after she was taken down. She was sat upright, asked if she was alright, and it was determined that she was breathing normally. She continued to be non-responsive. Tumwater Fire arrived at the scene and put an ammonia packet under her nose. The suspect opened her eyes, and the medics were able to get her talking, but she declined further medical assessment or medical tests.

After reading Wilson her Miranda rights, the police asked about the Speedway Express incident, Wilson initially told them that she turned around to reenter the store after realizing that she forgot to pay, and said that the employee grabbed her by her hair, and a fight broke out.

When police asked if she walked out of the store with the items, Wilson responded, “Yes, but I didn’t leave the property so it's not illegal,” the report stated.

The suspect then added that no one was at the counter when she was there, so she went outside thinking that an employee was smoking by the corner. When she tried to walk back into the store, an employee and a man from a restaurant assaulted her, Wilson said.

Wilson was booked into the Thurston County Jail for second-degree robbery.

The small dog was taken to Animal Services after-hours drop-off and put into a temporary kennel. 

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