WARREN — A mother and son from Warren avoided a jury trial after both pleaded guilty in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to robbery charges linked to a March 2022 incident at Menards in Bazetta.

Pamela Lorraine, 39, of Summit Street NW, and Steven J. Lorraine, 19, of Oak Street SW, each appeared before Judge Cynthia Rice, admitting to the third-degree felonies. The guilty pleas offset a jury trial that was scheduled to begin Feb. 28.

Both will submit to background investigations conducted by probation officers prior to sentencing. They each face up to three years in prison. Both remained free on bond until their sentencing hearing, which has not been scheduled, according to court records.

On March 5, 2022, a Bazetta police officer talked to security at the home improvement store, who saw a man and woman conceal merchandise the night before and tried to exit the store without paying for the items.

One of Menards’ security personnel tried to stop the woman, but she did not cooperate, the police report states. When the employee tried to take a stolen item from her purse, she pushed him away.

The man then walked up and tried to punch the security officer in the head, but missed. A second punch struck him on the left side behind the ear, according to the report. The employee did not require medical attention.

Police officers reported the stolen merchandise was worth $160 and security video and photographs of the suspects were taken as evidence. Later, anonymous individuals tipped off police about the possible names of the suspects, the report states.

A county grand jury in April 2022, handed up indictments in the case, and both Lorraines were arrested on warrants a few months later, records show.