Eastern KY woman accused of stealing bus allegedly returns to school, assaults superintendent
A woman charged with stealing a school bus in 2019 allegedly returned to the same school to attack a school superintendent and two other employees on Tuesday.
A Harlan County sheriff’s deputy responded Tuesday to Cawood Elementary School after a report of a woman assaulting a school staff member. The woman, identified as 37-year-old Teresa Wells of Cawood, allegedly assaulted Harlan County Superintendent Brent Roark. Wells was charged and was scheduled to be in court Thursday for an arraignment. Her version of the events wasn’t immediately available.
“Ms. Wells assaulted a female custodian at Cawood Elementary for several minutes until Assistant Superintendent Brett Johnson and I arrived ahead of law enforcement,” Roark told the Herald-Leader Thursday. “Ms. Wells was actively assaulting the custodian when we arrived.“
“Mr. Johnson and I had to stop the assault on the custodian by restraining Ms. Wells until sheriff’s deputies arrived and were able to place her in custody. Ms. Wells was very combative during the restraint and was charged for assaulting both of us as well as the custodian,” Roark said.
Roark commended the sheriff’s department for the quick response and professionalism.
He said no students were present, and cleaning crews were in the building preparing for the upcoming school year.
Wells was trying to flee from the school when the deputy arrived on the scene, according to court records. She was “screaming and cursing” and being disorderly, the deputy wrote in the arrest citation.
“She was talking out of her mind and constantly screaming,” the deputy wrote.
Teresa Wells was arrested and taken to the Harlan County Detention Center. She was charged with three counts of 3rd-degree assault, public intoxication (excluding alcohol) and disorderly conduct, according to court records.
She was held on a $2,000 cash bond.
In September 2019, Wells allegedly took a school bus from the Cawood Elementary School parking lot and drove it in the area for a short time, according to court records. A Harlan County School District employee got Wells to stop the bus before state police arrived, according to trooper Shane Jacobs.
Wells initially refused to exit the bus, and when she did exit, she appeared to be under the influence, state police said.
She was stopped on Ky. 1137. She didn’t have a driver’s license, according to court records.
At the time, Wells appeared to be under the influence because she had “slurred speech and glossy eyes,” Trooper Michael Soltess from Kentucky State Police wrote in an arrest citation.
Wells pleaded not guilty to the charges after being indicted, but a change of plea hearing is scheduled for September, according to court records.
Chief Deputy Matt Cope said he wasn’t aware of any reason that Wells was intentionally targeting the elementary school; she just happened to stay nearby.
“I do not believe she had any connection at all with Cawood Elementary,” he told the Herald-Leader Thursday.
Wells was also arrested earlier in 2019 when she allegedly stabbed someone with a pencil inside a Harlan County home, according to court records. She pleaded guilty to public intoxication (excluding alcohol) in that case.
