She Broke Windows And Tried To Burn Tractor: Order

JOLIET, IL - Most of the Will County jail mugshots are ordinary, but last week's photo of Dodgetta Simpson drew a lot of reader attention. The mugshot shows the Wilmington woman laughing as if she's at a comedy club rather than the Will County Adult Detention Facility. Simpson, who has her 30th birthday this week, was charged with two counts of battery causing bodily harm and one count of criminal property damage, three misdemeanors. Immediately after her arrest, three grown adults came together to obtain an emergency stalking no-contact order against Simpson, Will County Courthouse files show.

The protection order sheds light on the pending charges against Simpson. The people who obtained the court order were a Bourbonnais man, 67, a Wilmington woman, 46, and a man, 50, also from Wilmington. The petitioners checked the box indicating Simpson "may be considered armed and dangerous." The incident surrounding Simpson's arrest occurred in the 32000 block of Hawhorn Lane, near Route 53.

"I was on my porch with my friends Sarah and Chuck," one of the petitioners stated. "I saw Dodgetta walking toward our house from down the block. I got a really bad feeling and I got scared."

The petitioner, who notified the court he was disabled, stated that he went inside to avoid being hurt. The other woman warned Simpson to stay off the land or she would call the police. That's when Simpson "picked up a ceramic little boy and girl that I had on the porch and grabbed me by the hair and swung it at me," the 46-year-old woman indicated, according to the protection order.

"I went to block it, and it hit my hand. Chuck ran over and got her off of me. She had me by the hair ... She hit Chuck with it in his arm. She let go off me and started doing damage to the property."

The woman called police as did one of the neighbors.

"I didn't want to do anything to get myself in any trouble so I just stayed on the phone with the police and stood there waiting for them and watching while she destroyed the property," the protection order stated. "She picked up a pipe and broke all the windows in the house. The neighbor was running around the house while she was doing this saying, 'Stop doing this.' 'Stop. Stop. Stop.' She broke all the windows in the truck."

While police were still on their way, tensions escalated.

"She poured gasoline over the tractor and tried to set it on fire," according to the protection order. "The police showed up and grabbed her and I ran to the tractor and grabbed the torch before it started on fire. The police arrested her. We made a report. The police called someone to come and take pictures of me and the blood and damage and the weapons she used ... They were there about two hours."

Court documents show that Simpson was given a $5,000 bond, with personal recognizance to apply. After spending about 24 hours in jail, she was released from custody on Wednesday evening.

Booking mugshot via Will County Sheriff's Department