A Portland woman pleaded guilty Thursday to charges related to a 30-minute spree of attempted gas station robberies in August.
In an agreement with prosecutors, Catrina M. Jackson, 36, entered a Barr plea Thursday in Clark County Superior Court to two counts of first-degree theft. A Barr plea allows a defendant to plead to a substitute charge — even if it doesn’t describe the crime — to benefit from a prosecutor’s settlement offer.
In exchange for her guilty plea, Deputy Prosecutor Michael Vaughn dropped two counts of second-degree attempted robbery.
Jackson’s attorney, Shon Bogar, postponed sentencing to allow time for a presentence investigation by a Department of Corrections officer, who will recommend a sentence. Bogar said he wants the officer to consider results of a mental health evaluation of Jackson after her arrest.
He said Jackson committed the crimes after going off of her mental health medications. She stated in a pretrial release form that she has schizophrenia. Court records also indicate she has a history of mental health problems and opiate and methamphetamine use.
She had no felony history before her Thursday guilty plea and may be eligible for some first-time offender benefits, including serving community custody rather than jail time, Bogar said.
Her next court hearing is set for Feb. 24.
The first attempted robbery was reported at about 4:30 p.m. Aug. 15 at Snappy’s Gas and Groceries, 10512 S.E. Mill Plain Blvd. Jackson entered the store and told the clerk that she had a gun in the waistband of her pants.
She actually had a barbecue grill brush in her waistband, Vaughn said.
She ordered the clerk to give her “everything in the register,” according to a court affidavit. The clerk refused, and Jackson left the store, court papers say. The attempted robbery was recorded by a surveillance camera.
At 5 p.m., Jackson walked into a Stop N Shop Market Shell Station, 4911 N.E. 112th Ave. She told the clerk that she had a gun and that “it was not a joke, and to give her all the money,” court documents say. The clerk refused to comply and called 911. As he dialed the phone, Jackson ran out the door. Another store employee chased her, knocked her to the ground and held her until Vancouver police arrived, court records say.
She has been out of custody on $30,000 bond since August.
