Webb City woman charged with felony DWI, allegedly spit on Highway Patrol trooper

The Jasper County Prosecuting Attorney's office filed felony driving while intoxicated charges Friday against a Webb City woman in connection with a May 31 Highway Patrol traffic stop on 20th Street in Joplin.

Amanda Christine Hamilton (DOB 1976) was also charged with misdemeanor resisting arrest, misdemeanor assault, failure to drive on the right half of the roadway, failed to stop for a steady red signal and failure to maintain financial responsibility.

From the probable cause statement:

On May 31, 2024, at approximately 0050 hours, I was traveling westbound on 20th Street, east of Missouri 43 behind a black Cadillac Escalade. I observed the vehicle travel in the center of the roadway with the center line being underneath the vehicle. saw this, I overtook the vehicle and began following it. 

At this point the vehicle had returned to the right side of the roadway. The vehicle approached the steady red signal at the intersection of Missouri 43. The vehicle did not come to a complete stop and turned right traveling northbound on Missouri 43. The vehicle crossed the center of the roadway again. 

I turned on my emergency lights and the vehicle pulled into a parking spot on the right side of the roadway. I contacted the driver of the vehicle, who was later identified as Amanda C. Hamilton. 

As I began speaking with Ms. Hamiliton, she immediately became verbally aggressive by stating things like "Why did you want to ruin my night?!" and "I didn't cross the line!" 

During our conversation, I could smell the strong odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle. When I looked at Ms. Hamilton's eyes, I noticed they were bloodshot and glassy. I asked Ms. Hamilton to exit the vehicle and accompany me to my patrol car and she said, "I'm not getting out of my car, I have the right to be in my car and have you not bother me." 

I calmly advised her that I was now giving her a lawful order to exit the vehicle and she did not have a choice. She then began accusing me of staring at her sexually and continued to refuse getting out of the vehicle. 

I called for assistance from another officer and advised her that if she did not exit the vehicle she would be removed when another officer arrives. She eventually agreed to exit the vehicle. 

When Ms. Hamilton exited the vehicle, in addition to marijuana, I could smell the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from Ms. Hamilton's breath and person. She then said, you should be arresting all of these felonies walking around and pointed to a bystander that was passing by on the sidewalk and started yelling at him saying, "you should arrest that guy he definitely has meth, and that bike is probably stolen!" 

The bystander began verbally defending himself and Ms. Hamilton kept consistently yelling at him.

When that situation was de-escalated, I asked her to take some field sobriety tests and she kept saying she would do them but would not listen to instructions when I began to administer the horizontal gaze nystagmus test. 

Trooper T. Morris, badge #874 and 2 Joplin Police Department officers arrived on scene. I gave the instructions of the test several times and Ms. Hamilton could not follow simple instructions. She kept moving her arms away from her side, widening her stance, and when she began to follow my finger, she would stop and keep staring at me. 

When I told her she was not following my finger she stated, "I can see it even when I'm not looking at it."  She repeatedly and purposely disregarded my instructions. 

Based on the totality of the circumstances and Ms. Hamilton's actions, at approximately 0053 hours, I advised her she was under arrest for DWI. I ordered her to turn around and put her hands behind her back and she refused. I grabbed her hand and put her in cuffs with her hands behind her back. I asked her to provide a sample of the breath on a Preliminary Breath Test and she admitted to having one beer and stated she would not take the breath test. 

I attempted to place Ms. Hamilton in my Patrol car for transport, she would not let me put her seat belt on. I asked if one of the Joplin Officers could transport Ms. Hamilton in one of their caged vehicles and they agreed. 

When the Joplin Officer grabbed her arm to escort Ms. Hamilton to his vehicle she yelled, "Don't touch me!" and pulled away from him and began pulling in the opposite direction of the patrol vehicle. 

At this point, both Joplin Officers grabbed both of her arms and began escorting her to the patrol car. When we reached the patrol car. I opened the door, and she began fighting to keep herself from being placed in the patrol car. I had to assist in picking her up and placing her in the vehicle. 

After assisting her in the vehicle and before I could close the door, Ms. Hamilton spit on me by spraying her saliva all over the left side of my face. 

Joplin PD transported Ms. Hamilton to the Jasper County Jail.