A 31-year-old Saint Paul woman is facing a first-degree aggravated robbery charge after police say she stole a can of pepper spray from a Maplewood auto parts store and punched the store manager in the face twice while making her escape. Joce'Ylnn Renae Mapps allegedly fled on foot before officers caught up with her entering a nearby tobacco shop, where she struggled with police before being detained.
According to MN CRIME, police responded to a robbery call at the auto parts store on September 24, and the criminal complaint lays out a chaotic sequence of events. The store manager reportedly told Mapps to place her bags on the counter, which she did, but she declined her offer of help and warned her not to follow her. She then grabbed a can of mace from a shelf, tucked it into her back pocket, and threatened the manager before punching her in the face a second time and pushing through the door with her bags and the stolen item still on her.
Employee Intervenes as Suspect Flees
Another employee who heard the argument reportedly tried to stop Mapps from leaving the store, but she got away and made it to a nearby tobacco shop before police caught up with her. Officers found her struggling as they moved to detain her, and the store manager later identified her during a show-up identification, the outlet's report states. When police searched her bags, they found the stolen pepper spray still in its original packaging.
After being read her rights, Mapps admitted to being inside the auto parts store and acknowledged grabbing the store's mace, according to the same account. But she offered a different version of how the punches happened — she told police the manager started punching her first, and that she swung back to protect herself, accidentally hitting him in the face. She also told officers she left the store with just one item before heading to the tobacco shop.
Why a Shoplifting Case Became a Serious Felony
The distinction between what happened in that Maplewood store and a run-of-the-mill shoplifting case comes down to a single legal threshold: bodily harm. Under Minnesota Statute § 609.245, Subdivision 1, a person who commits a robbery while armed with a dangerous weapon or who inflicts bodily harm on another is guilty of first-degree aggravated robbery, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $35,000.
By contrast, simple robbery under Minnesota Statute § 609.24 covers taking property through force or threats without inflicting injury or presenting a weapon, and it tops out at 10 years and a $20,000 fine, per Arneson & Geffen PLLC. The law defines bodily harm broadly — physical pain or injury, illness, or any impairment of physical condition qualifies, according to the state's own published statutes. The charge follows allegations that Mapps took the pepper spray and punched the manager.
There's also a middle tier: second-degree aggravated robbery applies when someone implies they have a weapon without actually causing physical injury, carrying up to 15 years and a $30,000 fine under the same statute. Mapps was not charged at that level, since the complaint alleges she both took the pepper spray and struck the manager.
Sentencing Guidelines and What Comes Next
Even without any prior criminal history, Minnesota's 2026 sentencing guidelines classify first-degree aggravated robbery as a Severity Level 8 felony, which carries a presumptive prison term of 48 months for a defendant with zero criminal history points. That presumptive sentence sits well below the 20-year statutory maximum but still represents years behind bars if Mapps is convicted as charged.
Formal charges against Mapps were recorded on September 25 in the Second Judicial District at the Ramsey County Courthouse in downtown Saint Paul, where felony filings from Maplewood are prosecuted by the Ramsey County Attorney's Office. Maplewood, a Ramsey County suburb of roughly 40,717 residents, sits directly adjacent to Saint Paul, where Mapps lives. The allegations against her remain unproven, and the case is pending further proceedings in Ramsey County District Court.
The case adds to a string of recent violent robbery filings tied to Maplewood. In a separate case, Ramsey County prosecutors charged a 24-year-old Saint Paul man with first-degree aggravated robbery over a pistol-whipping outside a Maplewood gas station on September 17.
