WARREN — A woman said she was minding her own business last September clipping coupons waiting in the parking lot of a Weathersfield auto wrecking company as her fiance tried to return a rusted auto part.

The legal problems began for Gwendolyn Haynes, 51, as the Warren woman rushed to the aid of her man after he got into a fight with the owner of the business who would not accept the returned part, according to police records.

Haynes was given five years of probation Thursday by Common Pleas Judge Ronald J. Rice after she previously pleaded guilty to an aggravated assault charge.

Haynes told the judge she was sorry for the incident that ended with the owner of the business, Joe Porter, being stabbed in the left calf with the scissors the woman had used to clip the coupons.

“I just panicked,” Haynes said in court Thursday during the sentencing hearing.

Haynes’ fiance, Lionel Sellers, 56, of 1830 Northfield Ave. NW, pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of obstructing justice and misdemeanor assault. Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge W. Wyatt McKay ordered a background investigation for Sellers before sentencing.

Sellers, according to prosecutors, was a disgruntled customer and began yelling and bumping into the owner. According to security videos, the men got into a shoving match and then the woman joined the fray with the scissors.

The Sept. 24 incident took place at Porter’s Auto Wrecking on state Route 169 in Weathersfield in which Haynes’ attorney, Samuel Amendolara, said Sellers also sustained broken ribs.

Amendolara said Haynes already has paid $1,500 in medical bills for Porter, and Rice told the woman to write a letter of apology to the store owner.

Sellers remains free on bond until his sentencing, court records show.

gvogrin@tribtroday.com