Woman deemed competent after series of run-ins with police at restaurants

Publish date: 2024-07-23

LEESBURG, Fla. (TND) — A woman described as having “bright red hair” went into a Burger King after police say she was “issued trespass warnings from numerous establishments throughout the day.”

That day was March 17, 2023, and the woman would leave the fast-food restaurant in Florida under arrest for disorderly conduct.

“I knew this female to be Ms. Athena Fouser based on extensive personal knowledge/experience,” a police officer wrote in the arrest report. “I observed the defendant enter the parking lot and approach my vehicle while screaming at passing vehicles.

“Two females followed the defendant as they attempted to get my attention.

“One of the females, an employee of Burger King, advised that the defendant entered into the establishment and immediately entered into the restroom.

“The defendant entered and exited the restroom numerous times, causing concern from several patrons.

“The victim conducted a check of the restroom and found that they defendant had urinated in the restroom, making statements pertaining to people trying to kill her.“She then began to shout at the victim, causing her to fear for her own safety and the safety of the patrons.

“Based on the defendant's actions, coupled with her demonstrated corruption of public morals and sense of public decency, she was found to have committed the offense of disorderly conduct.”

Fouser was cleared by paramedics and held in jail for almost four months, even though prosecutors decided not to pursue the disorderly conduct charge after only two months.

She was also issued a trespass warning from Burger King, and was still facing other criminal charges at the time.

Fouser’s arrest report from February 2022 said she was “banging on the windows” of a store in a plaza where she had a trespass warning.

Then, her arrest report from November 2022 said she was “panhandling in the area and harassing customers for money.”

In both cases, she changed her not guilty pleas to no contest and was sentenced to time served.

But there’s still an open case from the morning of Sept. 30, 2022.

The owner of a different restaurant had gotten a call from an employee who told her “the front door was open and the business was a mess,” the arrest report said.

“The victim further discovered many things inside of the business had been moved.“The floors and many of the tables were also dirty and covered in an unknown adhesive substance possibly from soda.”

She said the missing items believed to have been stolen were two Puerto Rico flags, two GrubHub tablets, an Amazon tablet, a miniature Puerto Rican punching bag, and $30 in cash.

She also said she “believes the business’ kitchen was used to cook food.”

The employee told police she saw a woman at the front entrance “wearing a black dress with a small Puerto Rican flag around her hair and a large Puerto Rican flag draped over her shoulders.”

The officer determined there were no signs of forced entry, so the door may have been left unlocked, and Fouser was found early the following morning after a call about a suspicious person at yet another restaurant.

According to the arrest report, “The defendant had a Samsung tablet, Puerto Rican flag, and money in her possession.

“Due to statements the defendant made at the time, the items in the defendant’s [sic] were taken as evidence and the defendant was placed under a Baker Act,” which is the Florida law that puts a person in a mental health treatment program.

Then, four days later, she was charged and she reportedly told police, “I took $15 and that's all.”

In late April 2024, the state deemed Fouser “competent to proceed and no longer meets criteria for commitment.”

She pleaded not guilty to charges of burglary of an unoccupied structure and petit theft-2nd offense.

Fouser, 44, is due back in court on Friday, May 10.

ncG1vNJzZmivmpawtcKNnKamZ56axLR7zZqroqeeYsSwvsudZrCnnZa7bq3ToZynmV2irrO1xGadqK2jmr9ussuoqaKckWKxprHMnptmm5%2BivabAxKerZpyZqLyzsMSro7Jlk6S7pcHCrWSbraKcuaK%2B2GannqyZqXq1tMSfq2amn6l6qMHIpauyZZ6keqS7za2crKxdqLKvwMSnmp6cXZ%2BuqriMraCmnV2osrPCxJ1km62inLKzecqipaBloprAtb7OqKRmmpGgsrN5wJyrZqyimsCxrdKsoKefXaGypr%2FBrqmgZaCkuaqvxGapnquklsKzrc2t