A Rock Springs woman accused of pepper-spraying her father's girlfriend in the face during a profanity-laced confrontation at Dollar Tree is scheduled to be arraigned next week on a misdemeanor battery charge.
Nevaeh Sanders, 18, was working at the Dollar Tree on Elk Street when the June 11 encounter escalated from insults to a physical confrontation.
At least, that's how Sanders described it to the police.
Sanders told police the woman came into the store and started "talking shit" to her father, which prompted her to request that the woman be respectful.
She added that woman responded by saying, “I don't give a f*ck, I'll drag you over the counter."
Sanders warned that she would pepper-spray her.
“I dare you,” the woman allegedly replied.
Sanders sprayed her in the face.
The defendant later told police she was “scared” and didn't know what the woman was going to do but acknowledged she had not actually touched her before she used the spray.
That encounter has now landed Sanders in Sweetwater County Circuit Court, where she faces one count of misdemeanor battery.
Sanders wasn't arrested. Instead, she was served Monday with a criminal summons, a court order directing her to appear and answer the charge. Her arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday.
Battery carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail, a $750 fine or both under Wyoming law.
There were no prior criminal cases against Sanders in Wyoming court records.
‘I'm Right Here’
Rock Springs Police Officer Ryan Levene arrived at the Dollar Tree at about 7:10 p.m. after dispatch received multiple reports someone was pepper-sprayed there.
The woman who was sprayed told police she had gone to the store to purchase lighter fluid. She said Sanders started calling her names, specifically "crack head b—--," and she responded by calling Sanders a "crack head baby."
Then, she told police, Sanders reached over the counter and began pepper spraying her, and that even after she backed off Sanders continued to spray her from "three feet away."
When police arrived the woman had bloodshot, watery eyes, and red, splotchy marks on her chest and shoulder, which she said were burning. She rated her pain a 12 on a 1-10 scale, with 10 being the worst pain in her life, the affidavit says.
Investigators reviewed surveillance video from Dollar Tree.
The footage has no audio, so it couldn't verify the profane exchange both women described to Levene. It did, however, capture the physical encounter.
"Officer Levene observed no aggressive forward movement, lunging, or raised fists from (the woman) that would indicate an imminent physical assault against Nevaeh Sanders," says the affidavit.
In the video, Sanders reached over the checkout counter to deploy pepper spray directly at the woman, then Sanders left the register and continued to spray the woman from a close distance.
The father/boyfriend made no statement to police. He eventually led the woman out of the store.
‘That's Ridiculous’
April Sagastume, manager of the Rock Springs Dollar Tree, confirmed that Sanders was employed there when the confrontation happened.
Sanders no longer works there, Sagastume said, but she wasn't fired over the incident.
“At Dollar Tree, we do take the safety of our staff and customers very seriously,” she said.
“She was being threatened ... and she had to do what she had to do,” Sagastume told Cowboy State Daily.
The store manager hadn't known Sanders was now facing a criminal charge.
“That's ridiculous,” she said.
Cowboy State Daily also contacted Dollar Tree's corporate communications office seeking clarification about whether employees are permitted to carry pepper spray at work, whether the company considers it a weapon, and what employees are instructed to do when someone threatens them or comes into an employee-only area.
The company had not responded before publication.
Battery Or Self-Defense?
Wyoming law defines battery as intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causing bodily injury to another person through physical force.
But state law also recognizes the right to use reasonable defensive force when a person reasonably believes that force is necessary to prevent injury.
A person doesn't necessarily have to absorb the first punch.
Wyoming's self-defense law recognizes an honest belief that danger exists even when that danger ultimately proves to be “real or apparent.” But the amount of force used must be what a reasonable person in the same circumstances would consider necessary — “and no more.”
Wyoming also generally doesn't require someone lawfully present in a place to retreat before using reasonable defensive force, provided that person isn't the initial aggressor and isn't engaged in illegal activity.
Sanders said she was threatened with being dragged over the counter. She said she warned the woman about the pepper spray, heard “I dare you” in response and became frightened when she came behind the counter toward her.
The woman said Sanders sprayed her from across the counter and continued spraying as she moved away.
The silent surveillance video captured portions of the physical encounter, but none of the words exchanged before it.
Sweetwater County Attorney Daniel Erramouspe was out of the office until Thursday and unavailable for comment before publication.
Cowboy State Daily also reached out directly to Sanders but did not receive a response.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
