Inset: Allie Barrentine (Bay County Jail). Background: A Walmart Supercenter in Panama City Beach, Fla. (Google Maps).
An Alabama woman has a chance to avoid prison time in Florida after an attack on elderly women in a Walmart parking lot.
Earlier this month, Allie Grace Barrentine, 25, pleaded no contest to one count each of battery on a person 65 years of age or older, resisting an officer without violence, and disorderly conduct, according to court records obtained by Law&Crime.
Under the terms of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped one charge of battery on a person 65 years of age or older, court records show.
In turn, the judge overseeing the case entered a deferred adjudication order placing Barrentine on probation for 24 months.
Under the terms of the defendant's probation, the judge wrote that there will be "zero tolerance for use of any" controlled substance without a valid prescription. Barrentine must also undergo a mental health evaluation and corresponding treatment within 30 days of the court's order, and she must take all medication as prescribed.
The defendant was also ordered to pay $1,028 in court costs and $300 in attorneys fees, have no contact with the victim, and complete 100 hours of community service, final judgment documents show.
The underlying incident occurred in March at a Walmart Supercenter on Panama City Beach Parkway in the city of the same name, a small resort town located along the Florida Panhandle.
Around 7:40 p.m. on March 23, police officers were called to the parking lot, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime. There, police allege, the defendant "actually and intentionally" ended up striking two victims.
At the time, Barrentine "was walking through the parking lot" while one victim was the passenger in, and the other was the driver of, a vehicle "going down the same lane," the charging document issued by the Panama City Beach Police Department says.
No inciting incident is mentioned in the affidavit — just the allegation of ensuing violence as the defendant and the car were in proximity.
"The defendant began to punch the vehicle," the charging document reads. "The occupants of the vehicle exited and the defendant grabbed the victim's left arm and broke one bracelet. The defendant also grabbed and pulled the victim by her necklace. The victim is approximately 69 years of age."
The law enforcement narrative is largely repetitive in describing the initial moments of the alleged attack on the second woman, using substantially similar language as the first description.
But the second woman was injured differently, police said.
"The defendant began to punch the victim's vehicle," the complaint goes on. "The occupants of the vehicle exited, and the defendant grabbed the victim by the throat which had visible redness. The defendant also scratched the orbital area and punched the victim with a closed fist in the left eye. There was also visible rise in the area where she was scratched. The victim is approximately 65 years of age."
Law enforcement arrived around 8 p.m. that night, the affidavit says.
At around 8:05 p.m., Barrentine made contact with responding officers and resisted arrest, according to the police department.
"While speaking with the defendant, she had the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from her breath, was unsteady on her feet and needing to lean on a vehicle to remain upright, and was slurring her speech heavily," an officer wrote in the affidavit. "The defendant also admitted to consuming alcohol and Cannabis."
After one officer told another officer the defendant was being charged and arrested, Barrentine was told "to face the vehicle and to place her arms behind her back," police said.
Those commands, however, apparently did not go over well.
"The defendant became argumentative and refused to comply," the police officer wrote, saying "she attempted to pull away multiple times" after being pushed "against the vehicle to secure her."
Handcuffing Barrentine was allegedly not much easier.
"When swapping the defendant into flex cuffs and removing the original handcuffs, the defendant slipped the flex cuffs and pulled her left arm out, again attempting to pull away from us despite being ordered to stop resisting," the charging document goes on. "After being secured in a patrol vehicle, the defendant tampered with the flex cuffs and removed them from her right wrist, requiring a different set of restraints to be used."
Barrentine, who hails from Tuscaloosa County, waived extradition to Florida as part of the case's relatively quick resolution, records show.
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