MUNCIE, Ind. — A Muncie woman faces battery charges after two children say she punched them in the face and pulled their hair while accusing them of stealing money from her.
Taylor R. Hammond, 30, was arrested over the weekend on two different battery charges – one a Level 6 Felony. This came after Muncie Police Department crews were dispatched to a local home for “a bunch of females screaming” at 911 dispatch about an unknown problem.
MPD officers arrived around 9:30 p.m. Saturday at the 1800 block of W. 17th Street and spoke with two victims – identified as females under the age of 14. Police reports show one of the victims was bleeding from her nose – which was swollen.
The two described through tears how Hammond had punched them in the face and grabbed their hair forcefully. When asked why she did this, the girls said Hammond was drunk and thought they had stolen money from her.
Officers then spoke with Hammond, who police said was unable to stand up straight and smelled of alcohol. She told officers she had been “jumped bad” by the children and was hurt. She was then loaded into an ambulance and taken to Ball Memorial Hospital.
Meanwhile, the victims were treated for injuries to their eyes and face by the Muncie Fire Department. The money that Hammond claimed to be stolen was reportedly later found in an alleyway that she’d walked down earlier that day to get to the liquor store.
While being loaded into a CT Scan machine at the hospital, police said Hammond became belligerent and very rude to the staff. While she later claimed that BMH refused to treat her, police wrote that doctors and staff tried their best but that Hammond refused treatment.
Hammond was eventually cleared to be released and taken to the Delaware County Jail – but not before she reportedly fought officers from handcuffing her. She was later booked on charges of battery and battering a person under the age of 14.
Online court records have not yet been updated to show an initial hearing in Hammond’s case. However, a search of her criminal record shows Hammond has already been charged in the past for battery, battering a person under 14, neglect of a dependent, intimidation and more.
