A North Miami mother, identified as Merline Diegue-Pierre, is facing multiple charges after she was allegedly involved in a physical altercation with a teenager, who had been in a fight with her daughter outside the North Miami Public Library. According to NBC Miami, the incident occurred on Monday afternoon, and Diegue-Pierre was arrested yesterday.
Diegue-Pierre, 39, went to the library after hearing about a fight involving her 15-year-old daughter and another girl. Reports say that when she encountered the other teen outside the library, a verbal exchange occurred, leading to a fight between the two girls, during which Diegue-Pierre allegedly stood by. Local 10 reports that she is accused of not only failing to stop the fight but also escalating it by physically attacking one of the teens.
The situation intensified when a bystander, another 15-year-old girl, attempted to intervene. Diegue-Pierre is accused of pulling this teen by her hair and "flinging her away," as described in the arrest report. Moreover, Diegue-Pierre allegedly kicked off her shoes and engaged directly by punching and slamming one of the teens to the ground. She did not stop there; she supposedly got on top of the victim and continued the assault. The entire episode was captured on surveillance footage as well as by witnesses with cellphones, as per NBC Miami.
Diegue-Pierre turned herself into the North Miami Police Department and made a statement, which was later redacted in the publicly released arrest report. She has been charged with child abuse without great bodily harm and three counts of contributing to the delinquency and dependency of a child. NBC Miami's report stated Diegue-Pierre appeared before a judge Wednesday and was assigned a public defender.
Local 10 reported she was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $6,000 bond.
