A 23-year-old woman accused of trashing a Target store, doing thousands of dollars in damage, has been charged.
Gaylynn Bailey, of West St. Paul, was charged Thursday in Dakota County District Court with first-degree criminal damage to property, a felony, in the March 15 incident.
Bailey’s alleged actions, which included smashing display cases with a golf club and dumping chocolate sauce on the floor, forced an evacuation at the store at 1750 Robert St. S. Tuesday morning.
According to the criminal complaint, police responded to a report of a person destroying merchandise at Target at 9:43 a.m. on March 15. Store employees told police Bailey walked in the store at 9:41 a.m. and started throwing merchandise on the floor, smashing display cases and knocking over display stands.
Surveillance video showed Bailey pouring chocolate sauce, laundry detergent, and windshield wiper fluid on the floor, charges said. Cameras also captured her breaking glass display cases with a golf club and hand weights, as well as ripping a laptop off a security tether and throwing it on the ground.
Police found Bailey in the electronics department, spotting her knocking boxed TVs onto the ground, the complaint states. Police ordered her to stop and get on the ground but she continued to throw items off shelves.
Officers took Bailey into custody, and as they were escorting her out of the store, she kicked merchandise on the floor and at display stands, charges said.
The complaint says Bailey caused at least $6,988.95 in damage, “with the possibility that the value will increase as store employees continue to examine merchandise.”
The criminal complaint does not state why Bailey allegedly trashed the store. West St. Paul police told the Pioneer Press on Thursday they believe it was related to an issue a few days before over a prior purchase that angered her.
Bailey was booked into the Dakota County Jail on Tuesday, with bail set at $5,000. She made her first court appearance on Thursday and has an omnibus hearing scheduled for April 14.
Her criminal history includes convictions for misdemeanor hit-and-run and gross misdemeanor DWI, court records show.