Bartholomew County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a Columbus woman after she was accused of locking herself in a west side gas station bathroom to avoid police.
Amberly Barnes, 30, 1532 Brookside Court, was being held without bond in the Bartholomew County Jail on Saturday on a charge of resisting law enforcement and a Johnson County warrant for possession of marijuana, jail officials said.
Sheriff deputies were called to the BP gas station at Jonathan Moore Pike and Two Mile House Road at 5:09 p.m. Friday on a report of a fight.
Deputy Adam Warner saw a male and female near the gas pumps, who said they were with another female, whose vehicle was parked in front of the BP and it was that woman who was causing the problem, deputies said.
The woman, identified as Barnes, left the gas station and Warner asked her to speak with him. She ignored his request and went back toward the gas station and then toward the restrooms. Warner advised her to stop but she entered the restroom and locked the door, deputies said.
Warner again asked her to leave the restroom, and heard a flush and thought she might be flushing drugs down the toilet.
Deputy Brent Worman asked the clerk in the station whether they could enter the restroom and the clerk told them to open it by force if that is what they needed to do, deputies said.
Deputies reported Worman forced the door open and saw Barnes standing near the door and a piece of a trash bag was floating in the toilet.
Barnes was then arrested and taken to the Bartholomew County Jail.
