HAMLET — A woman is facing assault and trespassing charges after allegedly throwing tuna cans at a handicapped man last month.
According to an arrest warrant, 54-year-old Paula Marie Bledsoe, of Wellington Street in Hamlet, “maliciously” pulled the IVs out of the man’s right arm on Sept. 4. The warrant states she also yelled at him, “I’ve got somebody coming with a baseball bat to beat you to death.”
In another warrant, the same man accuses Bledsoe of “pushing him across the coffee table and throwing cans of tuna at him with malice.” She also allegedly damaged two bags of vancomycin, an intravenous antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections, causing more than $200 in damage.
Those incidents allegedly took place between Sept. 15 and 16. Warrants for both incidents were issued Sept. 24.
Bledsoe was arrested by Oak Island Police in Brunswick County Oct. 6 and transported to the Richmond County Jail the following day for booking.
She is charged with two counts each of first-degree trespassing by entering or remaining and assault on a handicapped person, as well as one count each of communicating threats and injury to personal property. All of the charges are misdemeanors.
Bledsoe was still being held Monday afternoon under a $2,500 secured bond. Her court date is scheduled for Nov. 6.
Online court records show she has no other pending charges in the state.
Bledsoe was convicted in Brunswick County on a felony charge of possession with intent to sell a Schedule IV controlled substance in late 2001, according to records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction. She also has a Level 5 DWI conviction in the same county from 2013.
She was given probation for both previous convictions.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until or unless proven guilty in court.
Reach reporter William R. Toler at 910-817-2675 and follow him on Twitter @William_r_toler.