A 63-year-old San Antonio, Texas woman was arrested after a disturbance at a Newnan extended-stay hotel over the weekend, one that police say involved a false claim of federal law enforcement status and ended with an officer bitten during the arrest. Charlene Kim Carr now faces four separate charges stemming from the encounter on Saturday.
According to The Newnan Times-Herald, Newnan police responded to the StudioRes by Marriott at 20 Celebrate Life Parkway at about 9:22 a.m. Saturday after receiving a criminal trespass complaint. Hotel management had asked Carr to leave the property, but she refused to go, according to the report.
Police say officers attempted to remove Carr from the property several times without success. At one point during the encounter, Carr indicated to officers that she was deaf and mute, though police determined that was not true, per the outlet's report.
Officer Bitten as Arrest Turns Physical
When officers moved to arrest her, Carr tried to run, according to the same account. She reportedly yelled during the arrest and claimed she was a federal law enforcement officer. Police say she then resisted officers and bit one of them during the struggle.
Once officers regained control, Carr was taken to the Coweta County Jail without further incident, the report states. That facility, located at 560 Greison Trail, serves as the primary detention center for individuals arrested by municipal police departments across the county, including the Newnan Police Department, per J. Ryan Brown Law.
Charges Span Misdemeanor and Felony Territory
Carr was ultimately charged with battery, criminal trespass, impersonating a public officer or employee, and willful obstruction of law enforcement officers, according to the incident report. Those charges carry a wide range of potential penalties under Georgia law, depending on how prosecutors ultimately pursue them.
Simple battery against a police officer performing official duties is treated in Georgia as a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature, which raises the maximum fine from $1,000 to $5,000 alongside up to 12 months in jail, according to the George McCranie Law Firm. Criminal trespass, meanwhile, is a misdemeanor carrying up to 12 months in jail under O.C.G.A. § 16-7-21 when someone remains on property after being told to leave by an owner or authorized representative, per Canton GA Lawyers.
The obstruction charge carries more uncertainty. Under O.C.G.A. § 16-10-24, non-violent obstruction of a law enforcement officer is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 12 months in jail, but obstruction involving physical violence or threats of violence becomes a felony carrying one to five years in state prison, according to Lawson & Berry. Separately, falsely claiming to be a peace officer or public employee with intent to mislead carries its own felony-level exposure under Georgia Code § 16-10-23, with penalties of a fine up to $1,000, imprisonment of one to five years, or both, as outlined by FindLaw.
A Hotel Built for Long-Term Medical Stays
The StudioRes property where the disturbance unfolded sits adjacent to the City of Hope Cancer Center Atlanta campus at 600 Celebrate Life Parkway, a regional cancer treatment hospital that draws long-term stay patients and visitors from across Georgia, according to City of Hope. Marriott launched the StudioRes brand in 2023 specifically for guests staying 20 or more nights, with its first location opening in Fort Myers, Florida, in June 2025, per Victor Valley News.
The concentration of extended-stay lodging near the hospital reflects a broader industry shift. Major hospitality companies rolled out new midscale extended-stay brands between 2023 and 2024, including StudioRes by Marriott, Hyatt Studios, and Hilton's LivSmart Studios, as post-pandemic demand for multi-week lodging surged, according to Hospitality Investor.
It remains unclear whether prosecutors will pursue the obstruction charge as a misdemeanor or elevate it to a felony given the physical struggle and the bite involved, a distinction that will likely hinge on decisions still to come from Coweta County's court system. Statewide, aggravated assault and battery offenses make up more than 75% of reported violent crime in Georgia, with 27,901 reported incidents leading to 8,149 arrests in 2023, according to Georgia Bureau of Investigation data cited by Morrison & Hughes.
