Woman Gets Prison Time For Dragging Woodstock Cop

WOODSTOCK, GA — A Marietta woman has been sentenced three months after a October 2017 incident in which an officer with the Woodstock Police Department was injured while trying to apprehend her for shoplifting at a department store.

Amy LaShea Ridge, 34, entered a guilty plea on Friday, Jan. 14 in Cherokee County Superior Court and received a 10-year sentence, court records show. She will be required to serve one year in confinement and the rest on probation, the negotiated plea agreement indicates.

She entered guilty pleas to one count each of theft by shoplifting, obstruction of an officer, aggravated assault on a peace officer, interference with government property, fleeing or attempting to elude police officer and possession of methamphetamine.

As part of her plea agreement, Ridge will be required to pay the probation supervision fee; a $1,000 fine; perform 120 hours of community service; avoid consuming alcohol or illegal drugs; not possess any firearms or occupy a home or vehicle where alcohol, illegal drugs or firearms are present; and shall report any arrests within 48 hours to her probation officer. She's also prohibited from entering any Kohl's store and has to provide proof of treatment for substance abuse.

Ridge appeared on the Woodstock police radar when officers were dispatched around 2:15 p.m. Oct. 4, 2017, to Kohl's on Highway 92 after receiving a call of a shoplifting in progress at the store.

Officers arrived on the scene while the female subject was leaving the store and getting into her vehicle, Woodstock police spokesperson Brittany Duncan previously told Patch. An officer tried to make contact with the woman in the parking lot.

"He approached the driver's side door and was in contact with the door when the driver fled in her vehicle," Duncan added. "The officer was subsequently dragged for a distance."

Information about the incident and the vehicle was dispatched to area agencies, and the Marietta Police Department apprehended the woman — identified as Ridge — in the area of Barnes Mill Road.

The Woodstock officer, a three-year veteran of the force at the time, was treated for injuries sustained in the incident.

Photo: Amy Ridge. Credit: Cherokee Sheriff's Office