Woman serving time for drug charges arrested for assaulting an officer

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- A bizarre assault on a female jailer at the Perry County Jail on June 6 led to a string of charges filed against a Perry County woman serving time for a drug offense, Sheriff Gary Schaaf said Thursday.

Tonya S. Baker, 36, of Perryville drew the attention of the jailer around dinnertime June 6 because of a report from another warden that she had thrown her food on the floor and was refusing to eat while in lockdown, according to an incident report.

When the jailer approached Baker and asked her to clean up the mess, saying if she did so she'd receive a new supper bag, Baker allegedly hurled an obscenity at her.

When an inmate refuses to eat, they generally are put on suicide watch, according to policy, so the jailer got a "anti­suicide suit," and instructed Baker to undress so she could put it on. Baker then allegedly struck the other woman in the face with a sanitary napkin.

The jailer raised her arms in a defensive stance, and Baker came at her again, the report said, striking her hard enough to bruise the woman's left arm in several places.

Taking a step back, Baker allegedly grabbed a nearby broom and assumed an aggressive position, at which point the jailer left to get assistance, closing the door. Baker began hitting the door of the cell repeatedly with the broom, the report said.

A short while later, the jailer returned and tried to reason with the woman, asking her to stop hitting the door and put her clothes on. Finally, with the assistance on two other deputies, they were able to get the broom from Baker and shut the door.

She then allegedly used a dustpan to hit the door until it broke.

After conferring for a few minutes, the jail staff returned to Baker's cell, and one waited outside the door, armed with the X-26 Taser, while another opened the cell door.

Baker then attempted to flee, flinging a liquid substance on one of the jailers, before they subdued her with the Taser. After a five-second cycle from the Taser, she attempted to get up and come toward the jailer a second time, but the jailer discharged her Taser again.

This time, the officers convinced the inmate to turn onto her stomach and lie quietly so she could be handcuffed and covered with a blanket, because she was still nude.

Baker was charged with endangering a correctional employee by attempting to cause that person to come into contact with a bodily fluid, damage to jail property and two counts of assault of a law enforcement officer.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 246