Staff Report

WARSAW — A Warsaw woman faces charges after an alleged incident involving a baseball bat.

Ashley Marie Hough, 38, 920 Anchorage Road 3, Warsaw, is charged with intimidation with a deadly weapon, a level 5 felony; and intimidation, a level 6 felony. 

According to the affidavit of probable cause, on April 12, an officer with Warsaw Police responded to a report of intimidation involving a deadly weapon.

Upon arriving, the officer spoke with the complainant, a woman who said that her child had been threatened by a man and woman who live in the area because a football accidentally hit one of the vehicles parked near the road. 

The complainant said she went to the home where the man and woman reside and knocked on the door, intending to speak to the two about the incident. 

The complainant said she could see the woman inside, but the woman would not come to the door to speak with her. The complainant said she decided to leave and let the woman inside know that she was calling law enforcement, which resulted in the woman coming out the residence with a baseball bat and threatening to beat her with it.

The complainant recorded a portion of the incident on her cell phone. 

The responding officer watched the video recording, which showed a woman, later identified as Hough, in the middle of the road with a bat. 

Hough and the complainant exchanged words multiple times during the verbal altercation, with Hough at one point saying, “You want to street fight, b****? – Bring it!”

According to the police report, during the altercation, Hough raised the bat and swung it to the ground beside her. A man then grabbed the bat from her and walked off. 

The officer spoke with several juveniles and all gave similar accounts of what happened. All juveniles said they were playing with a football in the area when a vehicle was accidentally struck with the football.

The juveniles said at that time the man and woman at the nearby residence came outside and told them to leave. They reported that the man said if they did not leave, he was going to shoot them with a gun. 

One juvenile reported that everyone involved initially went with the complainant to the residence but said once Hough came out with the baseball bat the juveniles scattered. That juvenile reported staying with the complainant while Hough reportedly yelled, cussed and threatened to beat the complainant up with the bat. 

Hough told police that she and the man did tell the juveniles to move their game to the yard but denied any mention of shooting the children. Hough said the complainant came to her residence, yelling and calling her names. 

Hough said the complainant called her a name and threatened to “beat her a**” as well as threatened to damage Hough’s vehicle.

Hough said she was mad at the complainant so she retrieved a baseball bat and went outside with it. She admitted that she hit the bat on the ground but denied ever trying to hit the complainant.

When asked why she didn’t contact police rather than going outside with the baseball bat, Hough reportedly said she didn’t know the phone number for the police.  

The man who was at the residence with Hough told police that he had told the juveniles to move their game to the yard to avoid damage to the vehicles. The man denied making any comments involving a gun or shooting anyone. 

Hough was booked at the Kosciusko County Jail April 12 on a $5,250 surety and cash bond.