El Paso woman accused of shoplifting, assaulting employee at Lower Valley auto-parts store

A woman allegedly assaulted an auto-shop employee who confronted her about shoplifting at the Lower Valley store, police officials said.

Yolanda Cadena Gomez, 45, is accused of shoplifting about 11 a.m. Sunday at the O’Reilly’s Auto Parts located at 700 N. Zaragoza Road near North Loop Drive, El Paso Police Department officials said.

Gomez walked into the business and was going through the aisles before she allegedly shoplifted drill bits and another tool from the store, police said.

An employee eventually asked her to leave after she became confrontational, police said.

Gomez then allegedly grabbed a tool and dropped it outside the store.

The employee tried to close the door to prevent Gomez from going back inside, but she then hit the employee, officials said.

The employee was not injured in the assault.

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Officers arrived at the scene and allegedly found Gomez had stolen drill bits and a tool, officials said. The stolen property was returned to the store by police.

Officers then found that Gomez had fentanyl and methamphetamine, officials said.

Gomez was arrested on suspicion of robbery, possession of a controlled substance-fentanyl and possession of a controlled substance-methamphetamine.

She was booked Sunday into the El Paso County Jail on a bond totaling $20,000. She had yet to post bail as of Monday afternoon, jail logs show.

Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso woman accused of shoplifting, assaulting employee at store