Minnesota woman, 23, stabs police officer who offered to let her go if she returned shoplifted items
ST PAUL, MINNESOTA: A homeless Minnesota woman has been arrested and charged after she was caught shoplifting by a police officer and proceeded to stab him when he offered to let her go if she returned the items.
The incident unfolded after St. Paul police officer Joe Ryan responded to Lunds & Byerlys on E. 10th Street shortly after 8 pm on October 7 after store employees reported that Articia L. Moore, 23, had hidden items in her pants and jacket without paying for them, according to the Star-Tribune.
A criminal complaint states that Ryan managed to stop her just as she was leaving the store and told her she could avoid legal trouble if she returned the items. However, Moore became defensive and argued that she had not taken anything without paying, even though the stolen items were clearly visible in her clothing.
The 23-year-old reluctantly returned a beverage but became uncooperative and combative after Ryan insisted she return the other items as well. At this point, the officer spotted a knife handle in her pocket and grabbed her arm. Moore backed away, pulled out a screwdriver, and struck the officer in the chest.
As they continued to struggle, she cut him on the arm with the knife before she was eventually brought under control and arrested. Luckily, Ryan's protective vest ensured he wasn't injured when he was struck in the chest, though he did sustain a superficial cut on his left bicep from the knife jab.
"She had options," said Sgt. Mike Ernster, a spokesman for the St. Paul Police Department. "Thankfully, he wasn’t seriously hurt."
Moore was subsequently charged with second-degree assault and assaulting a police officer at the Ramsey County District Court. She is currently being held at the Ramsey County Jail on a $20,000 bond and is scheduled to make her next appearance in court on November 5.
The Star-Tribune reported that this was at least the third time since August that Moore has been charged with defying law enforcement.
One of those instances involved an August 21 run-in with an officer at the Dorothy Day Center, where she was accused of causing a loud and destructive disturbance. She refused to comply with the officer's order to leave the facility and responded by punching him in the face and trying to scratch and bite him when he put a hand on her backpack.
She pleaded to gross-misdemeanor charges of assault and obstructing a police officer in connection to that incident, and will be sentenced for it on November 20. She also remains charged with another misdemeanor for obstructing a police officer on Aug. 31.