Woman gets prison for Raley’s robbery and hitting employee with glass candle, Yolo DA says
A Yolo Superior Court judge sentenced a woman to three years in prison for stealing a shopping cart full of merchandise from a West Sacramento Raley’s and hitting a store employee in the face with a glass candle after he tried to stop her, prosecutors said.
Traireese Jones, 28, of West Sacramento was convicted of second-degree robbery, assault with a deadly weapon while committing retail theft and criminal conspiracy, the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday in a news release.
Jones pleaded no contest to those felony charges on Nov. 13, court records show. The robbery charge included an enhancement for committing the crime with a deadly weapon.
The robbery and assault was reported about 10 a.m. Sept. 9, 2022, at the Raley’s at 1601 West Capitol Ave.
Prosecutors said West Sacramento Police Department officers responded to the reported robbery and spoke with a Raley’s store’s loss prevention employee who had a cut on his forehead and “was bleeding profusely.”
The store employee told police that he had tried to ask Jones to stop stealing from the store. Prosecutors said he followed Jones as she exited the store and tried to grab the handle of the shopping cart full of merchandise.
Jones then raised a large, heavy glass candle she had stolen from the store and used it to hit the store employee in the face, according to the District Attorney’s Office. The employee was significantly injured and let go of the shopping cart.
Prosecutors said Jones then picked up stolen merchandise that had fallen out of the cart and left the area. The incident was captured on the store’s security video cameras.
Authorities found Jones at a nearby motel, where she admitted she did not intend to pay for items when she went into the Raley’s store, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
“She also stated that she did not believe the loss prevention officer should have tried to stop her from stealing the items,” prosecutors said in the news release.
Jones was released on her own recognizance from the Yolo County Jail soon after her arrest pending the conclusion of her criminal case. Prosecutors said Jones failed to appear in court and was arrested in Sacramento County after reportedly stealing from another store.
After entering her no contest plea in the robbery case, Jones asked the court to sentence her to probation time, prosecutors said.
On Friday, Judge Samuel McAdam denied Jones’ request, citing her criminal history and the danger she poses to public safety, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
“We take retail theft very seriously in Yolo County,” District Attorney Jeff Reisig said in the news release, “especially when store employees are physically harmed during the performance of their jobs.”
