A homeless woman who attacked police at a Jefferson City hotel in July was sentenced to 60 days in the Cole County Jail for pleading guilty to amended charges against her.
During a hearing before Cole County Associate Circuit Judge Brian Stumpe, Delisa Simmons, 31, pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor counts of fourth-degree assault and one count of misdemeanor resisting arrest. Simmons has been charged with three felony counts of third-degree assault and one felony count of resisting arrest along with a misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree assault. She was also given credit for time served.
The incident occurred at Baymont Inn & Suites on West Miller Street. A woman claimed Simmons assaulted her in the hotel lobby, then left the area.
Hotel security camera footage showed the assault and Simmons blocking the woman from leaving the lobby. Several patrons attempted to step in and assist the woman, but Simmons allegedly broke through and caught her. The woman got away and went to the hotel office to escape Simmons, who followed her into the office. Hotel staff and patrons got Simmons out of the office, and the woman locked herself in the office until police arrived.
The woman told officers Simmons was a client of hers, and it was the first time she had been attacked. She said she was "legitimately in fear for her life."
Officers later located Simmons at West Elm and Walnut streets, where she began to hit herself in the head. They put her in a patrol vehicle, where she started to bang her head on the interior of the vehicle. It took approximately 10 minutes to secure her, police said, as she escaped from restraints several times. It was during this time three officers sustained injuries including scrapes and abrasions and one officer suffered a sprained right thumb.
Medical personnel gave Simmons a drug to calm her, and she was taken to a local hospital for a mental evaluation.
Investigators said they later found Simmons and another person with her were victims of human trafficking. The person with her claimed Simmons was actually her handler, and she also had an active order of protection against Simmons out of Colorado.