A 40-year-old Jacksonville woman is being held without bond at the Onslow County jail after she allegedly punched a man in the back of the head and then fought with officers who responded, including allegedly kicking one and hurling bodily fluids at another. Felicia Gladden faces a stack of charges spanning misdemeanors and a felony, and she is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
According to WCTI, Gladden is accused of punching another person in the back of the head before officers arrived. Once police were on scene, the station reports she refused to identify herself, failed to follow lawful commands, and attempted to fight officers, allegedly kicking one during the struggle. Arrest warrants allege she also caused bodily fluid to be used as a projectile against a law enforcement employee performing official duties, per the outlet's reporting.
That final allegation is the most serious of the bunch. Under North Carolina General Statute § 14-258.4, knowingly and willfully throwing or emitting bodily fluids as a projectile against a government employee performing official duties is a Class F felony, and Gladden is charged with malicious conduct by a prisoner on top of everything else, the station's report notes.
What Gladden Is Actually Charged With
Beyond the felony count, Gladden faces two counts of assault on a government official or employee, a charge classified under North Carolina General Statute § 14-33(c) as a Class A1 misdemeanor — the state's highest misdemeanor level, carrying up to 150 days in jail. She is also charged with resisting a public officer, a Class 2 misdemeanor under North Carolina General Statute § 14-223 punishable by up to 60 days, tied to her alleged refusal to follow lawful commands.
The alleged punch to the back of another person's head brings a separate simple assault charge, classified as a Class 2 misdemeanor under North Carolina General Statute § 14-33(a), which applies to non-aggravated physical force such as a strike or threat. Taken together, the charges mean Gladden faces exposure ranging from short jail stints on the misdemeanor counts up to active prison time if convicted on the felony charge.
Felony Exposure Under State Sentencing Rules
North Carolina's structured sentencing guidelines set a Class F felony conviction's potential minimum prison term at 10 to 41 months, depending on the defendant's prior record level, according to the Manning Law Firm. The escalation from an alleged assault on a civilian to allegedly propelling bodily fluids at officers is what pushes Gladden's overall exposure into that range.
North Carolina appellate courts have addressed how the felony's custody requirement applies even outside a formal jail setting. In State v. Ellis, the court ruled the “custody” element of the malicious conduct statute is satisfied if a reasonable person in the suspect's position would believe they were not free to leave when the bodily fluid was emitted — meaning formal incarceration isn't necessary, only that the person is under officer restraint. Statewide, the charge is relatively uncommon: a North Carolina General Assembly fiscal note recorded just 100 convictions for malicious conduct by a prisoner during fiscal year 2017.
No Bond, Court Date Set For Monday
Gladden remains at the Onslow County Detention Center, a facility at 717 Court Street in Jacksonville with a rated capacity of 528 inmates and an average daily population of around 365 detainees, according to the North Carolina Jail Administrators' Association. She is being held without bond and is scheduled to appear in Onslow County court Monday. It is not yet known whether that appearance will result in pretrial release conditions or a continued no-bond hold.
Several open questions remain about the case, including what triggered the initial confrontation with the man Gladden allegedly punched, whether alcohol or a mental health crisis played any role, and exactly what duty the responding officers were performing when the alleged assault on them occurred. None of those details have been disclosed publicly.
The case adds to a string of recent Jacksonville arrests resulting in no-bond holds at the same facility. Hoodline previously reported on a 20-year-old held without bond on felony assault charges, and on a separate case in which a suspect was charged with resisting a public officer after fleeing from Jacksonville police.
