Name of Accused:
Rikard, Celestine Arnita
Date of Arrest:
12/24/2024
Charges For Arrest:
WILLFUL OBSTRUCTION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS – MISDEMEANOR
CRIMINAL TRESPASS
DISORDERLY CONDUCT
Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]
On 12/24/2024
, at approximately 1429 Hrs, I responded to 615 E Oglethorpe Hwy (Popeyes Chicken) for a disturbance. Before law enforcement arrived, it was advised that a female was yelling and screaming and causing a disturbance at the business.
Once I arrived, I saw a female matching the description that was provided by central dispatch regarding the female. She was a black female, wearing glasses, a camo top and blue jean. She was standing on the outside of the business, holding the phone up towards her face, as if she was talking on it.
I walked up to the business and could hear the female on the phone talking to someone. She appeared to be upset about whatever disturbance had taken place. She was belligerent while outside the business and then once she was detained. She continued to raise her voice and then yell multiples times when officers would try and speak to her regarding the incident at Popeyes.
Officer Kalista stated that the female needed to leave, and the female stated okay. I explained that she needed to identify herself due to the management wanting her trespassed from the property due to her causing a disturbance. She stated she was not going to identify herself. She had opened her car door around the same time, and I could smell the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle. I stated I could smell “sig 9” indicating the odor of marijuana to Officer Kalista and he stated he could also smell it also. I stated I could smell marijuana, and she stated that did not give me a reason to her car nor did she have to identify herself. She stated that we could not the vehicle.
She had closed the driver door to vehicle and then walked towards to passenger side of the vehicle while officers were trying to talk to her. She then stated again that she was not going to identify herself. I explained to her that she was going to be arrested for not identifying herself due to us trying to conduct our investigation and to issue a trespass notice. She stated that we were unlawfully doing things and would not provide her name. She was then placed in handcuffs, ed and placed in my vehicle. While she was being secured in handcuffs, she began pulling away from Officers Kalista (150), Reed (111) and myself (175) with her keys still in her hands which resulted in the skin on Officer Reed’s wrist to be scratched.
She was placed in the back of my patrol vehicle and then officers began ing her vehicle. No narcotic was found. A handful of roaches were found inside the vehicle (which were all burnt). I did find a driver’s license in the vehicle (back driver side area in the floorboard) that I thought possibly belong to the female that was detained. I then went back to my vehicle and tried to ask her for her name again and see if she would provide her name and she stated she would not. I explained to her that she would be booked under “Jane Doe” if I could not identify who she is. She stated that was fine that she was not going to give me any information. Lt Greer asked if she was Mrs. Rikard and she would not answer the question.
She had also stated multiple times that we were violating her 4th and 5th rights.
As I was preparing to transport her to the Liberty County Jail, she would not sit back in the seat to allow officers to buckle her seatbelt and also tried to say that I tried to choke her with the seatbelt when I tried to buckle her. Lt Greer authorized her to be transported to the jail without a seatbelt due to being unable to seatbelt her.
While transporting her, she began trying to injury herself while I was driving her to the jail by hitting her head into the cage of my vehicle and stating that I wanted her to do that. She began trying to explain that because I slowed down at a yellow traffic light and then stopped at a red light because she was not wearing a seatbelt, I wanted to cause her head to hit the cage of my patrol car.
The jail staff believed the individual to be Mrs. Celestine Rikard, due to her being arrested in the past. She would not identify herself to them while I was on scene.
Warrants are being pursued under the assumed name of Celestine Rikard due to the license and her husband advising that the person on the license was her.
[End of Narrative]