Burlington woman faces several charges after OWI stop

BURLINGTON (WITI) -- A Burlington woman has been charged in connection with an incident in which she is accused of punching and kicking an officer in the groin during an OWI stop.

32-year-old Sarah Jesse of Burlington faces the following charges:

The criminal complaint in the case indicates Jesse was stopped on March 28th around 1:30 a.m. after an officer noticed her registration was expired. Jesse was stopped near E. Chestnut Street and N. Pine Street -- though the criminal complaint says Jesse did not stop her car immediately.

The complaint says Jesse admitted to drinking two drinks. A field sobriety test was initiated, and the complaint indicates Jesse did not perform well. Later, a preliminary blood test was administered, and Jesse blew a .153.

At that point, the officer informed Jesse that she was being arrested for OWI, and according to the complaint, this is when Jesse began to resist. The complaint says Jesse attempted to pull away from the officer when being handcuffed, and continued to resist.

When officers tried to move Jesse to the front of the squad car to stabilize her on the squad's hood, the complaint says she kicked the front of the squad, causing damage. She was then taken to the ground, where she continued resisting -- according to the complaint.

Officers were eventually able to gain control of Jesse and while doing so she attempted to kick an officer, according to the complaint.

Jesse was escorted to the squad and that as she sat down in the passenger seat with both legs still out of the car she raised both legs up and tried to kick an officer in the upper thigh -- according to the complaint. The complaint says the officer was able to move out of the way to avoid being kicked by Jesse.

The officer then reported Jesse then spit on him, causing her saliva to be expelled from her mouth, landing on the officer's chest. The officer reported he shut the rear door of the squad and could hear Jesse spitting several more times in the back of the squad -- according to the complaint.

Jesse was taken to the hospital for a blood draw, where she continued to resist, according to the complaint.

At the police station, Jesse had reportedly made a call. When asked to end the call, she refused, and when an officer tried to take the phone from her, she punched the officer in the left shoulder and upper chest area -- according to the complaint. In attempting to secure Jesse, Jesse reportedly kicked an officer in the groin area -- causing pain, according to the complaint.

Jesse's record of convictions dates back to 1998.