Citation: Woman arrested for drunk-driving with child in vehicle

Published 2:13 pm Thursday, March 29, 2018

STANFORD — A reported disturbance at Little Caesars Pizza led to the arrest of a Lincoln County woman who was allegedly driving under the influence with a child in the car and struck another vehicle while attempting to flee the scene.

Tionna Burchfield, 26, of Stanford, was arrested at 8:36 p.m. Saturday by Stanford Police Officer Ryan Kirkpatrick near the Little Caesars Pizza in Lincoln Plaza, according to the arrest citation.

Kirkpatrick responded to a call about a customer in the Little Caesars drive thru who was causing a disturbance and allegedly “screaming and cursing and refusing to leave the drive thru.” The woman was driving a maroon 1999 Mercury Villager.

Email newsletter signup

As Kirkpatrick approach the van, it made an “abrupt” U-turn and struck a white SUV with two occupants in the drive-thru and fled the scene, according to the citation.

“I ran to my patrol vehicle and activated my emergency equipment,” Kirkpatrick states in the citation. “Burchfield had pulled in a parking spot and exited the vehicle. Burchfield was attempting to get something out of the side door of the van.”

After refusing numerous commands to stop, Kirkpatrick attempted to stop Burchfield but she resisted and pulled away.

“Burchfield became very uncooperative,” the citation states. “Burchfield was screaming, yelling and cursing, causing fear, alarm to bystanders.”

The woman was eventually placed in handcuffs but became aggressive when police attempted to put her in the police cruiser and refused to get in the vehicle.

A deputy on scene used a “drive stun technique” with his Taser but it was unsuccessful, according to the citation.

Burchfield was eventually placed in the car but remained uncooperative, Kirkpatrick said.

“Upon first contact with Burchfield I detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from her breath and person,” Kirkpatrick wrote in the arrest citation. “Burchfield stated ‘I’ve had a couple shots and a few beers.’ Burchfield was so uncooperative I was unable to perform SFST (standardized field sobriety testing).”

There was a small child in a car seat in Burchfield’s vehicle throughout the incident, Kirkpatrick said, but it was uninjured and placed in the custody of social services.

The two occupants of the white SUV did not sustain any injuries, he added.

Kirkpatrick was assisted in the arrest by Lincoln County Sheriff’s Sgt. Sim Thacker and Stanford Police Officer Preston Middleton.