A woman faces criminal charges for allegedly using a cane to hit another woman and damage a vehicle during an altercation in a Cottage Grove parking lot.

A woman faces criminal charges for allegedly using a cane to hit another woman and damage a vehicle during an altercation in a Cottage Grove parking lot.

Lorelei A. Sargent, 58, of West St. Paul, appeared in Washington County District Court last week on first-degree property damage and fifth-degree assault charges stemming from a June 21 incident outside the Kohls store.

According to the criminal complaint:

A 41-year-old woman was walking to her vehicle in the parking lot when a woman, who was later identified as Sargent, sitting in a van threw trash out the window. Some of the trash hit the victim’s contact lenses, so she approached the vehicle with some of the debris and said, “Here, you dropped this,” and dropped it in the vehicle.

Sargent then allegedly threw more trash at the victim and grabbed a cane inside her car and started hitting the victim, who was standing outside Sargent’s vehicle. The victim, who said she was hit on her right forearm, retreated to her Toyota Corolla and locked the doors. Sargent allegedly exited her vehicle and started beating on the victim’s car with the cane, leaving multiple dents. The damage was estimated at $1,646.

The victim took a picture of Sargent during the incident and got her license plate number, later turning over both to Cottage Grove police.

A warrant was issued for Sargent after she failed to appear at an August court hearing. She appeared at a Sept. 12 hearing and is scheduled to be back in court Sept. 28.

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