Weapons charge, resisting arrest filed against Cape woman

A felony weapons charge has been filed against a Cape Girardeau woman after she was seen by police threatening her boyfriend with a knife.

Arleather Bell, 51, was arrested Monday night on a felony count of unlawful use of a weapon and misdemeanor resisting arrest after police responded to a domestic dispute about 11 p.m. in the 400 block of South Sprigg Street. Bell was kept in custody only a short time as she posted a $10,000 surety bond shortly after, according to officials at the Cape Girardeau County Jail.

Patrolman Michael Kidd of the Cape Girardeau Police Department was driving north on South Sprigg when he saw Bell standing on the side of the street, with a knife held above her head, the officer wrote in a probable cause statement. The blade, Kidd noted in his report, was pointed right at her boyfriend.

The officer ordered Bell to drop the knife, which she did, Kidd said. She was charged with resisting arrest because Bell ducked behind some cars, Kidd said, when he bent over to pick up the knife. Bell also struggled with another officer who tried to take her into custody, the report said.

Bell will likely appear before Judge Gary Kamp on Monday for an initial arraignment. She did not have a lawyer, according to online court documents.

Pertinent address:

400 block of South Sprigg Street, Cape Girardeau, MO