Libby woman charged with biting detention officer
Shelby Kujawa
A Libby woman who was locked up in the county jail on felony charges is now accused of biting a detention officer.
Shelby Kujawa, 34, is facing a felony charge of criminal mischief after a Jan. 17 incident and another felony charge of aggravated assault following an incident Jan. 19.
Kujawa was arraigned on the charges Feb. 10 in Lincoln County District Court where she pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Her attorney, Scott B. Johnson, sought to have his cllent released on his own recognizance and Judge Matt Cuffe granted the request. Part of Kujawa's release conditions are that she take her prescribed medications, not use illegal drugs and follow all other conditions.
Kujawa is scheduled to appear in court March 10.
According to the charging document, county deputy Brandon Huff went to the detention center after getting a report of an assault on a detention officer.
Huff spoke with the alleged victim, who said he was distributing medications. When he opened the door to the recreation room where Kujawa was being housed, he handed Kujawa’s pills to her and she started to argue with him.
The alleged victim said Kujawa stepped out of her cell before he and another detention officer used physical force in an attempt to get her back into the cell.
While forcing her back into the cell, the alleged victim said Kujawa bit him on his left bicep, causing bruising and breaking the skin. Deputy Huff photographed the bicep injury. Huff wrote the injury was consistent with a bite wound.
The guard went to the Emergency Room at Cabinet Peaks Medical Center to have the wound cleaned and evaluated.
Kujawa’s bond was set at $15,000 in the pending felony case.
A conviction on aggravated assault may result in a 10-year term in the Montana State Prison.
According to police reports, Kujawa was originally jailed after she broke out the windows of a 1988 Chevrolet pickup with a hammer. The reporting officer said that Kujawa is known to be violent and unpredictable from previous law enforcement contacts with her.
When deputies responded to the active disturbance on Jan. 17, they found Kujawa outside a residence, screaming profanities. According to the deputy’s reports, Kujawa hit body panels, headlights, taillights, the passenger side mirror and windshield. She also allegedly damaged a mailbox at a different residence.
After being detained and handcuffed by deputies, she was asked if she damaged the windows on the truck, to which she replied, “I did, sir” and she also said she moved the mailbox with her elbow and said she may have used a hammer.
According to deputy reports, the reporting party also had damage to their mailbox, too. The reporting party said she was removing her personal items from the house and placing them in the street throughout the night.
He had told her to quit yelling, but she started yelling more, calling him a child abductor and that he had raped her. The reporting party called authorities when she started busting out windows on their truck. She did not make any threats toward him or anyone else.