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Woman arrested in pepper spray incident at Newport News hotel

Posted at 1:55 PM, Jan 11, 2013
and last updated 2013-01-11 13:55:14-05
williams, jennifer ashley~011113

27-year-old Jennifer Ashley Williams

Newport News, Va. – A Newport News woman is now behind bars after spraying several individuals with pepper spray at a hotel, and then kicking a police officer.

Police say around 11:30 a.m. on January 10, 2013, police were dispatched to the Wynnwood Plaza Hotel at 6128 Jefferson Avenue regarding a report of an assault.

Officers arrived and spoke to a 57-year-old Newport News woman. The woman told officers that she is an employee of the hotel and was working in one of the rooms when the suspect entered the room and told her to get out. The victim told the suspect that she was calling the manager at which time the suspect sprayed her with pepper spray.

As the victim ran from the room calling for help, a 48-year-old female resident came out of her room and was also sprayed with pepper spray by the suspect. The suspect then ran from the building.

About 12:05 p.m., additional police officers were dispatched to the 6100 block of Jefferson Avenue regarding a report of a disorderly female who was possibly intoxicated and yelling at people in the area. Officers were able to locate and make contact with the disorderly female. When officers attempted to take the woman into custody, she became more disorderly and physically resisted the officers attempts – including kicking one of the officers.

During the arrest, an officer and the suspect fell to the ground, causing minor injuries to the officer. The suspect continued to resist the officers’ attempts to take her into custody. In order to take the suspect into custody, one officer used a taser to subdue the suspect. This suspect was later identified as the same person who sprayed two victims at the hotel with pepper spray. The area where the officers located the suspect is posted with ‘no trespassing’ signs.

The suspect is identified as 27-year-old Jennifer Ashley Williams, of the 500 block of Diplomat Court in Newport News. She was charged with two counts of malicious assault (pepper spray), one count of felony assault on a law enforcement officer, and one count each of trespassing and resisting arrest. She was placed in the custody of the City Jail.

Watch NewsChannel 3 for updates.