A Los Angeles County public defender was arrested on assault and battery charges Monday after authorities said she drunkenly kicked a group of police officers during a tirade at San Francisco International Airport.
Monica Marie Jenkins, 37, pleaded not guilty to the charges on Wednesday in San Mateo County Court, two days after the SFO employees denied her boarding access on her flight to Los Angeles for being too drunk to fly, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.
Jenkins was released from jail after entering a plea and will return to the Bay Area for her scheduled July 14 trial. She pleaded not guilty to five misdemeanor. Her office in El Monte indicated Jenkins would be back at work on Monday.
Upon being denied board access, Jenkins reportedly became belligerent and refused suggestions to sober up and catch a later flight, and instead demanded to be taken to jail while threatening to sue arriving officers, according to Wagstaffe.
Police arrested her for being drunk in public after she broke out into song, screaming “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, o’clock rock,” somewhat fumbling the lyrics of Bill Haley and the Comets’ 1954 hit song, Wagstaffe said. While they were escorting her from the gate, she kicked an officer and tried to kick another while continuously screaming profanities, according to reports.
Her erratic behavior continued once in a patrol car, where she took officers “Thank you for saving me” while frantically asking about her missing purse because “it’s worth a lot of money,” Wagstaffe said. She then calmed down and told police “I’m not worried anymore give me some cocaine.”
What that didn’t go well, she went back to being angry and again threatened to fight and sue the officers, Wagstaffe said. Upon arriving at the jail, she tried to bite a nurse who was attending to her booking.
