Charlena Stewart

Name:
Stewart, Charlena Caruso

Date of Booking:
04/28/2022

Reason(s) For Booking:
SIMPLE BATTERY – FAMILY VIOLENCE

DISRUPTING A PUBLIC SCHOOL

Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the officer’s narrative report. We do not fix any spelling or grammatical errors. Any changes made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist.]

On 04/28/22 1156 hours, I was dispatched to 910 Long Frasier Rd (Lewis Frasier Middle School) in reference to an assault call. On arrival, I made contact with dr. [WITNESS #1], the school principal, and a parent Charlena Stewart.

Stewart said the school refused to release her child. She came to pick up [REDACTED BY AGENCY] after she got in school suspension for skipping class. I gathered her information, and told her I would speak to school staff.

[WITNESS #1] explained that Stewart and her daughter, [REDACTED BY AGENCY] had gotten into an altercation in front of the school. Several staff members helped to seperate the two, and the child was escorted inside to prevent another confrontation.

I asked Stewart to wait for me in the lobby, while I spoke to staff who saw the incident.

[WITNESS #1] took me to the principal’s office, where I was able to speak to several witnesses individually.

I spoke to [WITNESS #2], a faculty member, who initially intervened in the altercation. [WITNESS #2] said that on 4-25-22 or 4-26-22. An incident had occurred between Stewart and [REDACTED BY AGENCY] Stewart had grabbed [REDACTED BY AGENCY] by her clothing near her chest and pulled her to her while picking her up due to a fight in school.

[WITNESS #2] stated that today another school official, [WITNESS #3], called her asking for assistance in front of the school lobby. [WITNESS #2] came outside, and saw Stewart chasing [REDACTED BY AGENCY] around the parking lot and “throwing punches” at [REDACTED BY AGENCY] [WITNESS #2] said Stewart was “choking” [REDACTED BY AGENCY] she saw Stewart grab [REDACTED BY AGENCY] by the neck twice, but [REDACTED BY AGENCY] did not black out, and could still talk. [WITNESS #2] heard [REDACTED BY AGENCY] say “stop mom, your embarrassing me.”

[WITNESS #2] said when Stewart grabbed [REDACTED BY AGENCY] by the throat a second time, she approached and grabbed Stewart’s jacket, and told her to stop. Stewart continued to “throw punches” at [REDACTED BY AGENCY] [WITNESS #2] was able to get between Stewart and [REDACTED BY AGENCY] Stewart continued trying to hit [REDACTED BY AGENCY] over [WITNESS #2]’ shoulder, so [WITNESS #2] had [REDACTED BY AGENCY] move away from her. [WITNESS #2] began to walk to [REDACTED BY AGENCY] and Stewart began to approach her daughter again. [WITNESS #2] had [REDACTED BY AGENCY] moved into the school office and away from Stewart until police arrived. [WITNESS #2] heard Stewart on the phone with someone saying “I’m going to f*ck her up” when speaking about [REDACTED BY AGENCY].

I spoke to [WITNESS #3], and she said that Stewart shoved [REDACTED BY AGENCY] and said she was going to “f her up” and “beat the hell out of her” [WITNESS #3] saw Stewart push [REDACTED BY AGENCY] head to the side forcefully in a slapping motion, but without slapping her. She did not see Stewart grab [REDACTED BY AGENCY] by the neck nor see if she was punching [REDACTED BY AGENCY].

[WITNESS #4], a faculty member, was on lunch duty, and happened to glance outside the lunchroom window. She saw [WITNESS #2] try and get between Stewart and [REDACTED BY AGENCY] Stewart was swinging a fist at [REDACTED BY AGENCY] and struck her “in the mouth”, causing [REDACTED BY AGENCY] to jerk backwards as [WITNESS #2] got between them. She did not see everything, because she was attempting to get students away from the window where they normally line up on for lunch.

I spoke to the school nurse, [REDACTED], and he said that he checked [REDACTED BY AGENCY] for injuries, and did not observe any visible injuries, but [REDACTED BY AGENCY] told him Stewart had hit her on the right side of her face and the left side of her neck.

While speaking to [WITNESS #1] and the assistant principal, [REDACTED], they explained that [REDACTED BY AGENCY] had a history of getting in school fights, and had a nickname of “thumper”. Several faculty members were pulled from their regular duties, and students had to be rerouted from the lunch room due to the incident with Stewart and the subsequent actions to protect [REDACTED BY AGENCY].

Lt Snider and I went outside to speak to Stewart about the incident. Stewart said she had come to pick up her child, due to her getting disciplinary action at the school. When she walked out of the school, Stewart “mushed” [REDACTED BY AGENCY] on the back of the head, and began to verbally berate her about the disciplinary actions at the school. Stewart said she grabbed a hand full of [REDACTED BY AGENCY] clothing, and “jacked her up”. I asked her to explain the meaning of “jacked her up”, and she said when you grab someone by their clothes and lift or pull them. She then “yanked her back and forth”. Stewart saw [REDACTED BY AGENCY] squared up in a fighting stance. [REDACTED BY AGENCY] told Stewart “momma, I’m about to…ooooo….oooooo.” Stewart got in her face, and said “let’s go” and school staff took [REDACTED BY AGENCY] back inside the school, and refused to let her have her child.

I asked Stewart about the allegations of her punching the child, and she said she did not punch or hit her child in any way. I asked Stewart about a faculty member seeing her grab [REDACTED BY AGENCY] by the throat, and Stewart said she may have been grabbing her shirt near her neck. Stewart demonstrated a grabbing and pulling motion on her own shirt collar that pulled the shirt tight around her neck. Stewart said she did not choke [REDACTED BY AGENCY] she also denied hitting [REDACTED BY AGENCY].

After hearing all of the witness statements, Lt Snider and I arrested Stewart for simple battery-FVA and disrupting a public school. Lt Snider placed her in handcuffs that were checked for fit and double locked. We escorted Stewart to Lt Snider’s patrol vehicle, and secured her in the back seat with a seat belt. Stewart kept yelling that the faculty were lying, and that she did not hit her daughter.

Lt Snider transported Stewart to liberty county jail without further incident. His back seat was searched before and after transport with nothing to report.

I provided the school a CRN pamphlet, and advised them on follow up procedures. Warrants will be obtained and a bond hearing held in the appropriate time frame.