Mugshot of Karen Norton Photo Credit: THE VIRGIN ISLANDS POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ST. CROIX — A woman who reportedly responded to a neighbor’s complaint by using her string trimmer as a weapon is now facing charges in court.
According to court documents, on October 8, police officers were alerted to a reported trespassing in La Grande Princesse, and traveled to a nearby service station where they met the complainant. He told them that he had been relaxing at home when around 3:00 p.m., he heard a buzzing sound coming from outside. He went to check and saw his neighbor, Karen Norton, cutting the grass.
The man told officers that he saw the woman, with whom he says he has had several issues since she moved in, using the weed whacker to cut the plastic bottle he had placed to delineate the boundary between his property and hers. He said that he yelled at her to stay off his property and while she shouted back at him, he went to replace the damaged plastic bottle with a small wine bottle.
After doing so, he said that out of frustration, he broke off a piece of a tree limb which was on his property. Norton then reportedly came towards him still carrying the weed eater, and extended it towards him. The head of the machine reportedly made contact with his upper left arm, causing injuries. The man said that was when he called 911.
The responding officer took note of the bloody lacerations to the man’s upper left arm, and offered the services of an emergency medical technician. The injured man accepted the offer, describing the burning pain in his arm as akin to a centipede bite or sting from a Jack Spaniard.
Afterwards, the man took police to his home, where officers noted the empty wine bottle on top of a steel post that the man said was the property marker. They made contact with Norton, who identified herself and said that she had accidentally damaged the empty plastic bottle that her neighbor had put on the steel post.
She told officers that he had advanced onto her property, screaming at her about trespassing. Norton said that her neighbor ignored her requests for him to back away, and admitted to raising the weed eater. Police say she then stopped answering questions about what happened next, preferring instead to speak about the boundaries of the property.
Ultimately, Norton was arrested and charged with third-degree assault, carrying or using a dangerous weapon during a crime of violence, and disturbance of the peace. She was remanded into custody until her advice of rights hearing, which occurred on October 9.
In court on Monday, Magistrate Yolan Brow Ross found probable cause to uphold all charges against Ms. Norton, and set bail at $25,000. However, Ms. Norton was only required to post $1000 in cash to secure her release, which was done, with the remaining sum signed as an unsecured bond. Other pre-trial release conditions contained in the court order have not been published as of press time.
Norton will next appear in court for her arraignment, scheduled for October 25.
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