Felony charges filed against woman accused of threatening bridge workers in Jefferson City
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Prosecutors charged a Jefferson City woman with five felonies and several misdemeanors after she crashed in a construction zone and allegedly threatened workers with a hatchet.
Jennifer L. Berry's charges include drug possession, fourth-degree assault, unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action and evidence tampering.
Jefferson City police say Berry reportedly threatened workers with a hatchet after crashing in a construction zone late Tuesday on the Missouri River bridge. A probable cause statement says she ran at the workers with a hatchet over her head.
Police were called to the bridge just before 9 p.m. on a report that the driver who crashed was threatening workers with a hatchet, according to a Jefferson City Police Department news release. Officers arrived to find her holding several tools, including a long-handled crowbar, the release says.
Berry, 44, hit the "ramp closed" sign and hit barriers that marked the construction zone, police say. Workers said her truck got a flat tire in the crash and she blamed them, according to police.
Berry was taken to jail after a sobriety test, where officers found drugs in the police car where she had sat, the release says.
Berry initially ignored officers' commands to surrender and police had to struggle to get her into custody, the probable cause statement says. Berry smelled of alcohol and was slurring her words and mumbling, the statement says.
A hatchet was on the passenger seat and police found open containers, the statement says.
Police found a white powdery substance in Berry's holding room after taking her to a hospital, according to the statement. The officer who took her to the hospital also allegedly found a white crystal substance where Berry had sat.
Police arrested the woman on suspicion of second-degree assault, resisting arrest, driving on a closed highway, second-degree tampering; attempted escape from custody, fourth-degree assault, drug possession, DWI and other offenses.
Charges had not been filed late Wednesday morning.
