US woman arrested after doorbell video showed her harassing family

A person presses a Ring doorbell. A police probable cause statement indicated the woman appeared on a doorbell video waving a hammer and using profanities before she smashed a basement window and the door of a drying machine on Jan 5, 2022. — Dreamstime/TNS

ST. LOUIS: A St. Louis woman depicted in videos pounding on a family’s door, terrorising the family and hurling racial insults is facing charges.

But it took more than a year for charges to be filed because the original complaint languished before videos began receiving attention on social media.

A St. Louis circuit judge on Feb 15 put in place a protection order against Judy Kline, 54, who was charged this month with burglary, property damage and unlawful use of a weapon after prosecutors reviewed the videos.

Doorbell videos posted online by Fatima Suarez received millions of views, along with sympathy for her family that’s of Mexican descent. She said the family didn’t know the woman who kept appearing at the front door.

In one video, the woman was heard saying, “You’re not American. Get off of my property.” Another time she called them “illegals” who didn’t belong in the home.

A police probable cause statement indicated the woman appeared on a doorbell video waving a hammer and using profanities before she smashed a basement window and the door of a drying machine on Jan 5, 2022.

The original complaint ended up in a drop box for non-urgent, non-violent cases, according to Allison Hawk, spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office.

There’s a 24-hour turnaround for cases that are flagged as a public safety risk, and action was taken promptly when the videos came to the prosecutors’ attention, she said.

Kline did not appear at the hearing on Wednesday, and it’s unknown if she has a lawyer. She didn’t return an email seeking comment. – AP