A pre-dawn confrontation at an Oklahoma City Motel 6 allegedly escalated from a request to leave into a knife threat against employees, police say. The encounter ended with a 36-year-old woman in custody after she was pepper-sprayed twice.
Oklahoma City police responded to the motel in the 2700 block of NW 39th Street at around 4 a.m. Saturday, according to KOKH. A caller reported that a Black female adult was wielding a knife toward staff and threatening to kill them. Officers later located Dezare Stiggers near NW 39th Street and N. May Avenue.
Police said employees had asked Stiggers to leave the property and had already pepper-sprayed her. After that first spray, she allegedly pulled a knife from her purse and threatened the employees, leading to a second application of pepper spray. Stiggers was then arrested on a complaint of assault and battery with a deadly weapon.
The arrest remains an allegation, not a conviction
The case is currently at the booking stage, and an arrest does not establish guilt. The available report does not indicate whether formal charges had been filed, whether bond was set, or whether anyone involved required medical treatment.
Oklahoma deadly-weapon law carries serious potential penalties
Under current Oklahoma law, assault and battery committed with a deadly weapon is classified under Section 652(C) of Title 21 as a Class A3 felony punishable by up to life imprisonment upon conviction, according to the Oklahoma Legislature. That statutory maximum is not a prediction of the outcome in Stiggers' case, which would depend on any formal filing and later court proceedings.
