Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester woman with a lengthy criminal history is facing felony charges after a violent incident at a local convenience store Saturday morning.

criminal complaint filed today in Olmsted County Court says Rochester police responded to the Kwik Trip location along 11th Avenue Northwest near Civic Center Drive after receiving a report of a disturbance. The first officer at the scene encountered an employee, who appeared panicked, pointing in the direction of a woman who was making noises and irrational statements.

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The court document says the officer indicated he believed the woman was about to leave the store with merchandise she had piled on the counter and in a shopping basket. When the officer attempted to take the woman into custody, he reported that she tried to headbutt him and attempted to kick other officers at the scene.

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The criminal complaint says she was eventually subdued and taken to St. Marys Hospital for evaluation before being transported to the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center. The charging document also states she continued to resist and required additional restraint while at the hospital.

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Witnesses told police that the woman, identified as 41-year-old Jamie Lea Copeland, immediately began causing a disturbance after entering the store. The criminal complaint says witnesses indicated Copeland had a stick and was striking objects inside the business and threatening employees with it while she attempted to access the cash register and was grabbing various items of merchandise around the store. Police later located a metal stick that appeared to be a broom handle behind the front counter.

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The store manager told police she gathered her employees and some customers and directed them into a back room until police officers arrived. The criminal complaint noted that the manager was visibly shaking and crying while speaking to officers.

Copeland is charged with felony counts of simple robbery and fifth-degree assault. Her bail is set at $40,000.

Her criminal history includes convictions for felony assault on a peace officer, fleeing police, and first-degree damage to property stemming from an incident in April 2020 during which she crashed her vehicle into some doors at the Mayo Civic Center.

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The criminal complaint in that case stated Copeland then went inside the Mayo Civic Center and overturned some tables before getting back into her vehicle and ramming a Rochester police squad car multiple times before driving away. She was later apprehended at a convenience store in northwest Rochester, where a meth pipe and an open bottle of alcohol were found in her vehicle.

READ MORE: Rochester Woman Sentenced For Ramming into Mayo Civic Center

 

The damage to the Mayo Civic Center was estimated at more than $50,000, and the damage to the squad car rammed by Copeland was around $7,000. She was sentenced to 5 years on probation for her convictions in that case.

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