A twenty-six-year-old woman was arrested in Fayetteville, North Carolina, after she fired shots at a police officer during an otherwise routine traffic stop. Desiree Breshay Smith was taken into custody, but that did little to stop her attitude. Smith was stopped by police because officers watched as she blew through a stop sign on Dashland and Fieldcrest Drives in her 2006 Chevrolet Impala.
The driver of the Impala did not stop peacefully after police officers tried to pull her over. Instead, the driver allegedly fired a shot at the cop and tried to commit murder before fleeing the scene and trying to escape arrest for blowing through the stop sign. However, Fayetteville police were able to catch up with the driver and arrested Smith at a second traffic stop after she was able to get away from the first.
When police inspected Smith’s vehicle, they found several spent shell casings from the bullet she had fired. They also found a stolen firearm in the Chevy Impala. This led to additional charges for Smith. In total, the young woman was charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon on a government official, possession of a stolen firearm, felony flee to elude arrest, failure to stop at a stop sign, and careless and reckless driving, according to ABC 11.
Thankfully, police were able to arrest Smith and booked her into the Cumberland County Detention Center. Her bond was set at $25,000.
When Smith showed up to court on Monday, she told Judge Stephen Stokes that she had never been arrested before. Instead, she said that she was a pillar of the community because she held a stable job and went to school to further her education and her career.
Unfortunately, Smith did not appear to tell the truth. According to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, Smith had been in trouble with the law before.
Judge Stokes was furious that the suspect would lie to him in open court, so he did what any good judge would do and increased her secured bond from $25,000 to $100,000 – a four-fold increase that would make it exponentially harder for the suspected criminal to get out of jail while she is on trial for numerous charges related to her traffic violation, fleeing the police, and firing a gun at a police officer.
But that’s not all Judge Stokes did. He also imposed a very strict order on Smith that she is to have “no contact whatsoever” with the Fayetteville Police Department – meaning, if she is released on bond, she will not be allowed within 100 feet of any Fayetteville police officer or a police station.
This is a great move by Judge Stokes. Not only did he increase the bond, but he also ensured that Smith would not be able to come into contact with the police if she did make bail. This is an important safety measure for both Smith and the police officers she tried to kill.
It’s important that judges take a stand against criminals like Smith who try to take the law into their own hands. We need more judges who are willing to set strict bonds and conditions for defendants, especially when those defendants have been accused of such serious crimes. Thank you, Judge Stokes, for setting an example and sending a message that criminals will not be tolerated in our community.
Should more judges be taking a stand against criminals?