Contributed Photo/Courtesy GCSO: Charlotte Simmons was arrested and booked into the jail on a charge of criminal damage after allegedly crashing into her boyfriend’s truck intentionally.
By Jon Johnson
GRAHAM COUNTY – Charlotte Simmons, 36, was arrested and booked into the Graham County Adult Detention Facility on Sunday, June 28, on one count of criminal damage/domestic violence. Possible DUI charges are pending investigation.
According to a Graham County Sheriff’s Office report, Simmons’ boyfriend advised that they were at C & C’s Hideaway with their children and his brother and his family to get some food on Saturday, June 27 when Simmons became upset with the quality of service and was asked to leave. The boyfriend said when he tried to smooth things over Simmons accused him of taking the waitress’s side and became irate.
Once they arrived home to their residence on Cactus Road, the boyfriend and his brother advised that Simmons got into her newly purchased white, 2007 Ford Explorer and began to leave the house. They said Simmons backed out of the driveway but then pulled forward and repeated doing so until she accelerated quickly and intentionally ran into the boyfriend’s truck. The deputy located damage to the rear driver’s side door and a black plastic piece believed to have broken off from the Explorer.
The boyfriend said he was concerned for the action because he had just gotten their children out of the truck and that he didn’t believe Simmons to be too intoxicated to drive because he thought she had only consumed two beers while at the bar.
By the time the deputy arrived, Simmons had left the area and was not located. However, the following day another call for service regarding a domestic dispute at the same residence on Cactus Road at about 3:37 p.m. The deputy was unable to immediately respond due to being at another domestic violence call involving a weapon and a Safford officer responded instead, took Simmons into custody, and changed the nature of the call to DUI.
Later that night, the deputy interviewed Simmons at the jail about the previous day’s incident. Simmons claimed that her boyfriend and his brother were getting drunk at the bar and hadn’t ordered any food for the children in the hour-and-a-half they were there. She said she believed her boyfriend was flirting with the waitress, so she “made a little bit of a scene” and then they headed home.
Simmons advised that to avoid a confrontation, she got into her SUV to leave but when she was backing out she saw a car driving toward her on Cactus Road so she pulled back forward and accidentally hit the truck. She also advised that she didn’t think she was too intoxicated to drive and that she had only consumed a Bloody Mary drink with two shots of vodka in it.
Simmons was then booked into the jail for criminal damage/domestic violence.