A Marietta, Georgia, woman was sentenced to a year in custody after pleading guilty to shoplifting from a Woodstock department store and then dragging a police officer with her car as he tried to stop her, according to court documents. Amy Ridge was arrested after police received a call about 2:15 p.m. on Oct. 4 in the parking lot of the Kohl’s along Ga. Highway 92 in Woodstock, according to Officer Brittany Page, Woodstock Police spokeswoman. “When the officer attempted to make contact with the woman who was already in her vehicle, the driver took off,” Page previously told the Cherokee Tribune, the MDJ’s sister publication. Ridge dragged the officer about 75 feet through the parking lot. She was arrested after being stopped by Marietta police near Barnes Mill and Merritt roads. The officer suffered minor injuries, but was treated at the scene and released, police said. The incident was captured on the department store’s surveillance footage.
Ridge was arrested without incident and charged with one count each of shoplifting, obstruction of an officer, aggravated assault, fleeing and eluding, driving with an expired tag, reckless driving and drug possession. She accepted a negotiated plea, as a repeat offender, to one count each of theft by shoplifting, obstruction of an officer, aggravated assault on a peace officer, interference with government property, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer and possession of methamphetamine. She was sentenced in Cherokee County Superior Court on Friday to one year in custody and nine years on probation so long as she adheres to the conditions of her sentence, according to court documents. Special conditions of her probation include: performing 120 hours of community service; receiving substance abuse treatment; having no contact or entering the premises of Kohl’s; not consuming alcohol or illegal drugs; not associating with anyone who uses or possesses illegal drugs; not occupying a residence or vehicle where alcohol or illegal drugs are present; and refraining from drinking and driving. [Source: Marietta Daily Journal]