REDWOOD CITY (KRON/BCN) — A 27-year-old woman has pleaded no contest to charges she repeatedly punched another woman who told her to quiet her crying nephew at a Colma Nordstrom Rack store last November, prosecutors said today.
Terrie Vaiasaga Elzie was shopping with her two-year-old nephew on Nov. 3., when the child
started crying. Prosecutors say that’s when another woman in the store told Elzie to quiet him down, and Elzie told her to mind her own business.
The argument escalated with the other woman telling Elzie to “go to hell,” which prompted Elzie to wait outside for the woman to come out of the store, according to prosecutors. When the woman came out, Elzie attacked her, punching her in the mouth twice, pushing her to the ground and sitting on her, prosecutors said.
The victim’s mouth was left bloody and the bones of her gum line were fractured. She needed several root canals to repair the damage, prosecutors said.
The assault was caught on video surveillance.
On Wednesday, Elzie pleaded no contest to felony assault in a plea agreement that she serve no more than six months in jail.
Defense attorney, William Johnston, said Elzie took issue with the other woman when the child repeated the foul language that the woman used.
Johnston said that his client waited outside to confront the woman over that, and hadn’t intended to assault her, but the situation got out of hand.
“She’s a young lady who’s never been in trouble before, she’s a high school graduate with a college education, and she’s gainfully employed,” Johnston said. “This is just an aberration.”
The defense says it’s expecting the judge to impose a probation term during sentencing scheduled for Aug. 4.
Elzie remains free on $50,000 bail, prosecutors said.