A 45-year-old Naples woman was arrested by Monroe County deputies early Sunday after she allegedly tracked down the friends who left her behind in Key West, slapped them, and then turned violent when deputies tried to take her into custody. Crystal Annegret Quesenberry now faces a string of charges stemming from the 2 a.m. disturbance at a home on Fox Street in Big Pine Key, including kicking a deputy in the groin and threatening to kill officers and their families during the ride to jail.
According to Tampa Free Press, Quesenberry's drinking companions left her in Key West and headed home without her, a trip of roughly 30 miles to the Big Pine Key residence. The outlet reports that deputies were told Quesenberry had grown intoxicated and irate at bars before the group parted ways, leaving her to find her own way back.
Confrontation Turns Physical At Fox Street Home
Rather than staying put, Quesenberry allegedly made her way to the Big Pine Key home where her companions had gone, per the same account. Investigators say she slapped three people there and threatened to end their lives once she caught up with them, escalating what began as a group of friends splitting up for the night into a full-blown disturbance call.
Deputies responding to the scene found Quesenberry combative, and the report states she became violent while being detained, kicking a deputy in the groin during the struggle. No serious injuries were reported in the incident, according to the outlet's reporting.
Threats Continued During Transport To Jail
The trouble reportedly didn't end once Quesenberry was in custody. The station's report says she issued death threats against the arresting deputies and their families while being driven to jail, adding another layer to the charges she now faces.
Those charges reportedly include battery on law enforcement, resisting arrest with and without violence, assault, battery, and making death threats against officers and their families, per the outlet. Monroe County, where Big Pine Key sits roughly 30 miles from Key West along the island chain, falls within Florida's jurisdiction for enforcing these statutes.
What Florida Law Says About Battery On Officers
Under Florida Statute § 784.07, battery against a law-enforcement officer engaged in lawful duties is reclassified from a first-degree misdemeanor to a third-degree felony. The statute's definition of covered officers includes law-enforcement officers, correctional officers, and correctional probation officers, among others named in the law.
It isn't the only recent case in the Keys involving an officer injured during an arrest. A report from CBS12 last year described a separate Monroe County incident in which a deputy was kicked multiple times in the abdomen while arresting an allegedly intoxicated man at a bar.
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office's own arrest listings carry a standard reminder that anyone shown has been arrested but not yet found guilty in a court of law, per the agency's online arrest records. Further details on Quesenberry's case, including any court proceedings, had not been independently confirmed as of Sunday's report.
