A woman who aided in the March robbery of three UCSD students has been ordered to undergo a prison diagnostic study to determine if she should be placed on probation or go to prison, like her boyfriend. Deputy District Attorney Jim Koerber said June 24 that Reynisha Ann Bransford, 24, had no prior record before she and Brian Quinn Coats, 22, pleaded guilty to robbing the students on March 6 in Fashion Valley. San Diego Superior Court Judge Timothy Walsh ordered the 90-day prison study June 23 after Koerber asked for a prison sentence in the case and her attorney sought probation. She will be interviewed by prison officials and psychologists, who will prepare a report for Walsh as to whether she could comply with probation or should be sent to prison.
Bransford will go before Walsh for sentencing on Oct. 21. On June 2, Walsh sentenced Coats to two years and eight months in prison and fined him $6,574. The students were robbed of their cell phones and wallets and a purse. Koerber said the students’ property was recovered. Coats and Bransford are from San Diego. The pair also pleaded guilty to conspiracy, robbery and attempted robbery of two other people at a La Mesa grocery store parking lot that same night. They were arrested by San Diego and La Mesa police in a joint investigation after one victim provided authorities with a license plate of the getaway car. — Neal Putnam