Friday, December 02, 2016
By Jeff Lehr
PINEVILLE, Mo. — A third suspect is facing charges in the assault of a Somali woman Oct. 3 at the ballpark in Noel.
Deanne L. Rodarmel, 44, of Noel, was arraigned Wednesday in McDonald County Circuit Court on charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in connection with the assault of Fatima Mohamed, 19. Rodarmel entered a plea of not guilty to the charges.
Co-defendants Ashli Helmuth, 28, and Michael Miller, 34, were ordered bound over for trial on the same charges Nov. 16 after a preliminary hearing at which Mohamed testified that Helmuth punched her during the confrontation and Miller discharged a handgun into the ground and air in an apparent attempt to intimidate her.
Mohamed, who works at the Tyson Foods plant in Noel, was spending a work break in the ballpark and was driving back to the plant when a group of three women and two men forced her to stop by blocking the park roadway, according to her testimony at the hearing.
She said the women were cursing and yelling at her to slow down, and that an older woman, not Helmuth, positioned herself in the middle of the narrow park road, blocking her way. She stopped and got out of her vehicle to hear what they were saying to her, she said.
She testified that the older woman was extremely angry and stirring up the others, in her opinion. The women were hurling racial slurs at her and began hitting her, she told the court. She said Helmuth was the first to hit her.
According to her testimony, Miller had remained in the background until the women attacked. She then heard gunshots and saw him firing a small black handgun several times. He never pointed the gun directly at her but discharged the weapon into the ground and the air, she said.
She testified that she suffered scratches to her face and "a busted lip" and was left hurting in her neck and ribs.
A probable-cause affidavit filed with the charges on Rodarmel alleges that she was "one of the five assailants" who forced Mohamed to come to a stop and was "an active participant in the physical assault" of the victim. The affidavit does not make clear whether Rodarmel is the blonde woman Mohamed claims was the primary agitator in the incident.
Hearing date
A preliminary hearing has yet to be set for Deanne Rodarmel in the assault of a Somali woman in Noel. Her next court date is Dec. 21.