Albert Lea woman enters plea for assault
Published 4:15 pm Saturday, November 19, 2011
An Albert Lea woman accused of breaking another woman’s wrist during an assault last October entered into a plea agreement in Mower County District Court on Friday.
Jessica Maria Ortiz, 26, of Albert Lea, pleaded guilty to fifth-degree assault within three years of a previous conviction. One charge of third-degree assault was dismissed.
According to court documents, the alleged assault took place at Kwik Trip on Fourth Street Northwest in Austin on Oct. 24, 2010, around 1:15 a.m.
Police arrived to find a woman with dried blood on her shirt, pants, face and neck. Her lip, nose, face and wrist were also swollen, according to a court complaint.
The woman told officers she had met a man at a dance earlier that night and exchanged phone numbers with him after dancing together. She went to Kwik Trip after the dance and was called to a car in front of the store by a woman, later identified as Ortiz.
When the woman reached the car, Ortiz punched her in the head and knocked her to the ground. At some point, an unknown male began holding her down while Ortiz continued to beat her.
The man she had met at the dance arrived and tried to stop the assault, but Ortiz apparently continued to hit her while the other man held her down.
The court complaint states that Ortiz was also at the dance and was overheard saying the woman was dancing with “her man” and saying she was going to beat her up.
When police arrived, they advised Ortiz to go to Austin Medical Center and receive attention for her “obviously deformed wrist.” At AMC, the wrist was classified as a “severe wrist fracture through joint,” which would likely require surgery, according to the court complaint.
Surveillance obtained from Kwik Trip caught the assault on tape.
Ortiz is scheduled to appear in court for her sentencing on Jan. 5, 2012.