Marina Joan Atencio from Rogersville pleaded guilty on Friday, Mar. 24 to the charges of Class D felony of assault in the third degree, class A misdemeanor of escape from custody, and class B misdemeanor of driving while intoxicated.
The charges came from an incident on the evening of Sept. 17, 2022. According to the probable cause statement from the Rogersville Police Department, officers were watching traffic when they noticed a vehicle with no license plates had run a stop sign.
After pulling the vehicle over and explaining the reason for the stop, officers noticed the smell of alcohol and slurred speech from Atencio. After being asked to step out of the vehicle, Atencio was asked if she would do the field sobriety tests. She declined the walking portion but agreed to the eye test portion, after which she did the breathalyzer test, where she registered .183. She was then arrested for DWI.
According to the statement, while one officer was driving to the police department, Atencio became upset and began hitting the plexiglass in the back of the police vehicle. The officer asked her to stop but noticed the banging getting louder after arriving at the police station. Realizing Atencio had slipped out of her cuffs, the officer opened the caged portion of the police vehicle and attempted to retrieve their handcuffs. That is when Atencio began kicking the officer repeatedly. After getting assistance from another officer, Atencio was placed back into cuffs and taken to the Webster County Jail. The incident was recorded via a camera in the cage portion of the police vehicle.
If she was convicted, Atencio could have faced various consequences, including jail time of up to seven years or fines. However, Atencio’s attorney and the Webster County prosecutor agreed to a Suspended Imposition of Sentence (SIS), finalized before her court appearance on Mar. 24. Atencio entered a plea of guilty to all charges without trial in exchange for five years SIS.
Per the agreement, Atencio is to report to the Probation and Parole Division of the Missouri Department of Corrections within three business days, and they will supervise her probation. This probation includes the following special conditions:
- Not drinking or possessing any alcohol.
- Not being in a motor vehicle where alcohol is present.
- Not entering any business where alcohol sales are the primary source of the business’ revenue.
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