Shop owners recount assault by homeless at Sacramento County thrift store — two in custody
.jpg "Melissa Jones, left, and her husband, Thomas, described being attacked at their store, Dollar Thrift, on Auburn Boulevard in Old Foothill Farms. Two suspects were arrested in connection with the assaults.")
Sacramento County thrift shop owners believe strongly their business model of selling clothing, shoes and jewelry for reasonable prices is unlike any other store in the capital region.
Customers can find jewelry, books, shoes, clothes and more for $1 at Dollar Thrift on the 5300 block of Auburn Boulevard in Old Foothill Farms. But business is getting harder for couple Melissa and Thomas Jones after they said two unhoused residents assaulted them Monday at their shop, leaving behind numerous mottled bruises.
“We asked the homeless to leave the property so that we can do our business,” Melissa Jones said. “And we get assaulted.”
A man and woman are accused of first attacking Thomas Jones with an object attached to a lanyard-type string outside their store. The man was punching him, Melissa Jones said, and she added she tried to intervene. That’s when she said was attacked by the woman.
The Sheriff’s Office arrested a 25-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman in the incident. Both have been booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. Both are expected to be arraigned Wednesday.
The man was also booked on suspicion of false imprisonment and unlawfully having a controlled substance, records show.
Sgt. Amar Gandhi, a spokesman for the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, said the couple was asking the suspects to move because customers were beginning to arrive. That’s when the attack happened, he said.
“They didn’t physically grab them and force them,” Gandhi said. “These people that were being asked to move took it upon themselves to violently attack the shop.”
Monday’s attack was the latest in a string of incidents targeting Dollar Thrift, said the Joneses, who have owned the store for seven years.
Thomas Jones recalled an incident three years ago in which a person smeared feces across their property, spelling out a highly offensive racial slur. Over the years, their windows have been smashed or cracked, Melissa Jones said.
“I don’t know how much more we can take and keep the business open,” Thomas Jones said. “If we don’t (stay) not only are ... we out of business, but the community hurts.”