A Hallandale Beach woman has been arrested on charges she went on a scream-filled tirade on State Road A1A that included throwing a traffic cone at a car and spitting on one of the men who restrained her, police say.
Arlene Mena, 25, was taken into custody Wednesday morning on charges of battery and criminal mischief, according to Hallandale Beach police arrest report.
At Mena’s first court appearance Thursday, Broward County Judge John “Jay” Hurley listened as she provided her account of the incident.
“With all due respect, I was just trying to do artwork,” Mena said. “The driver misunderstood. I was walking with my boots on. I hurt my leg.”
The judge asked Mena what she did for a living, to which she replied she was a “dancer,” or “stripper.”
Following the woman’s statements, Hurley wondered aloud how the alleged crime unfolded.
“Do you have any idea how these facts fit together?” he asked. “She’s wearing boots, doing artwork in the middle of the roadway. I mean there are a lot of things that just don’t, you know, they don’t add up. But I guess you had to be there.”
According to Mena’s arrest report, she on Wednesday was “yelling and screaming” in the middle of the 1800 block of South Ocean Drive, also known as State Road A1A.
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She picked up a traffic cone and “willfully and maliciously” threw it as the driver’s side of a Dania Beach man’s vehicle, the report said.
The impact from the cone hitting the vehicle caused an estimated $300 in damage, the report said. She then spit on the right side of the driver’s face, the report said.
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Another man stepped in to help the driver restrain the woman and get her out of the path of traffic, and she scratched that man’s wrist, the report said.
"I heard a thump and a thud," the witness, Noel Von Koffman, told NBC 6 South Florida. "She actually threw this with enough force at his car to break his rearview mirror on the driver side."
"It was just very obvious she needed to be put some place for herself and her own good," Von Koffman added.
When Hurley set Mena’s bond at $1,000 on Thursday, he gave her some advice.
“Ma’am, I suggest not wearing boots and doing artwork in the middle of the roadway,” he said. “I’d start right there, and I think everything will start looking up for you.”
Mena reacted by laughing. She replied: “OK, thank you.”
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