Woman charged in pepper spray incident
Published: August 27, 2010
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ST. CROIX — After a 16-year-old girl on Wednesday afternoon brought up the previous night’s altercation between her and a 45-year-old woman, the woman pepper-sprayed the minor and her younger sister in the eyes, police said.
When police responded to Lorraine Village housing community and moved in to break up the fight, the minor’s 11-year-old brother punched a police officer in the eye, sending him to Luis Hospital for treatment, said St. Croix Deputy Police Chief Christopher Howell.
The 45-year-old, Lorna Williams of Lorraine Village, was arrested and charged with second-degree assault. Williams was advised of her rights before V.I. Superior Court Magistrate Judge Miguel Camacho on Thursday.
Police first responded to the fight just after noon Wednesday, when they encountered a group of women and minors fighting, said Police Officer Samaria Lake in a court document.
The fight had stemmed from an incident that occurred Tuesday night, when Williams and the 16-year-old apparently had a scuffle, Howell said.
The following day, as the 16-year-old was walking with her two younger siblings to get the mail, she taunted Williams using foul language, saying she had beaten Williams up the night before and she would do it again, Lake said.
Williams reacted to the taunts by spraying the 16-year-old and the 7-year-old in the eyes with pepper spray, the victims told police. At that point, the fight broke out, and a number of officers responded, Lake said.
One of the police officers was struck in the eye in the middle of breaking up the fight, Howell said. The officer was taken to the hospital and treated for a cut beneath his eye, which did not need stitches.
At least one of the minors received medical treatment for pepper spray, Lake said.
Williams was released on an unsecured $50,000 bond.
She is scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 15.
— Contact Daniel Shea at 774-8772 ext. 457 or e-mail dshea@dailynews.vi
