A 29-year-old woman is facing a half-dozen criminal charges for allegedly crashing her vehicle — with her 2-month-old baby inside — into the Los Angeles Police Department’s Harbor Station in San Pedro earlier this month, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.
Michelle Denise Betancourt pleaded not guilty Tuesday to one felony count each of child abuse under circumstances or conditions likely to produce great bodily injury or death, assault upon a peace officer, vandalism with more than $400 in damage, resisting an executive officer and battery with injury on a peace officer, along with one misdemeanor count of hit-and-run driving resulting in property damage.
Betancourt was allegedly involved in a hit-and-run crash near the Harbor (110) Freeway and Anaheim Street shortly before she crashed her car into the lobby of the police station at 2175 John S Gibson Blvd. around 4:45 a.m. on Feb. 9.
She allegedly accelerated backwards after being ordered to get out of the vehicle, forcing an officer to jump out of the way, before she backed out of the station, according to Deputy District Attorney L. Christmas Brookens. Betancourt allegedly injured a separate officer while being taken into custody, according to the prosecutor.
She is due back in a Long Beach courtroom on March 6, when a date is expected to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to require her to stand trial.
If convicted as charged, Betancourt could face a maximum of more than 10 years in state prison.
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