Punch Drunk

Crockett Woman Assaults Jailer

By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter

CROCKETT – A Class C misdemeanor turned into a third degree felony when a Crockett woman hit a jailer as she was being booked into custody during the early morning hours of Aug. 14.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, officers with the Crockett Police Department were dispatched to a residence at 111 E. Homewood St. in reference to “… someone outside of a residence hollering.”

When the officers arrived, they discovered 53-year-old Jody Lee Bates-Emmons sitting “… in the grass talking to herself.”

As the one of the officers moved closer, he noticed glass lying beside her.

“I (Officer Shane Sandifer) asked her a couple of times how much she had to drink and she was talking, but not making any sense. She then asked me to help her and stuck her hands out in a fashion as if she wanted me to help her up. I helped her to her feet, but she was very unstable,” Sandifer stated in the affidavit.

As Bates-Emmons and Sandifer approached the patrol unit, Bates-Emmons, “… fell on the ground and acted as if she was passed out,” the legal document stated.

Also on the scene was Sgt. Alfredo Fajardo. When he and Sandifer tried to help her back to her feet, Bates-Emmons “… jumped up and started cussing. I (Sandifer) placed her in handcuffs, picked her up and placed her in the back of my patrol car.”

After Bates-Emmons arrived at the jail, she became combative with the jailers. When she would not calm down, two jailers attempted to put her in a restraint chair but as they were doing so, “… she punched one of the jailers in the face with a closed fist.”

Bates-Emmons was charged with public intoxication and assaulting a public servant. The PI charge is a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500. She was also charged with theft and theft by check because of warrants from another county

The assault charge, however, is considered a third degree felony under Texas state law.

According to Section 12.34 of the Texas Penal Code, “An individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the third degree shall be punished by imprisonment in the institutional division for any term of not more than 10 years or less than two years. In addition to imprisonment, an individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the third degree may be punished by a fine not to exceed $10,000.”

Bates-Emmons is being held on bonds totaling $11,800.

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected]