In July, Greenbriar's Jessica Marie Shaeffer was found guilty of assault and sentenced to two months in jail. But her troubles were far from over. On Aug. 21, she returned to court and pleaded guilty to attempted escape.
Shaeffer, 23, of 13121 Sparrow Tail Lane, first came to the attention of Fairfax County police April 18, around 2 a.m., when an officer pulled over a car over at Stone Road and Awbrey Patent Drive in Centreville. Police said a search yielded narcotics, and two of the three passengers — Shaeffer and Katherine Irby Jones, 27, of Virginia Beach — were arrested.
But while the officer was driving to the Adult Detention Center with the two women, Shaeffer decided to make a break for it. Although handcuffed, she managed to free one of her hands and grab the officer’s shirt through the window dividing him from them. She also tried to get control of the cruiser's steering wheel.
Police said the officer struck her several times to get her to release her grip, and he then pulled the cruiser over. A second officer arrived to assist him, and they both handcuffed Shaeffer again. But this time, they also placed her in ankle restraints.
Police charged her with possession of a controlled substance (narcotics), assault on a police officer, attempted escape with force and possession of marijuana.
The marijuana charge was later dropped in General District Court, and the offense of assault on a police officer was reduced to assault. Judge Mitchell Mutnick then found Shaeffer guilty and sentenced her to 12 months in jail, suspending 10 months.
The attempted escape charge was handled separately and, on Aug. 21, in Circuit Court, she pleaded guilty to this offense before Judge M. Langhorne Keith. She's scheduled to return for sentencing Oct. 27.
<tgl> —Bonnie Hobbs