COAL TOWNSHIP - A young Shamokin woman charged last month with multiple drug offenses is back in prison today after allegedly attempting to bite a Coal Township police officer several times when he attempted to handcuff her early Wednesday morning.
Jordan Derck, 24, of 133 Academy St., was arraigned at 9:20 a.m. by Magisterial District Judge John Gembic III on a felony of aggravated assault and misdemeanors of simple assault, resisting arrest and providing police with a false name and date of birth.
The charges filed by Patrolman Joshua Wynn relate to incidents that began at 12:18 a.m. Wednesday along Bear Valley Road when Officer Terry Ketchem spotted a suspicious parked vehicle.
When Ketchem approached the vehicle, two males fled from the vehicle, prompting the patrolman to call for assistance. Ketchem then made contact with two females inside the vehicle, one of whom was Derck. Police said Derck initially identified herself as Jordan Detalent, while the other female identified herself as Amanda Manning.
Police said Ketchem advised both females to wait in the vehicle, but the woman identifying herself as Manning fled into a nearby wooded area. Police then searched the area for the two males and the woman identifying herself as Manning, but couldn't locate them.
At 2:25 a.m., Wynn spotted Derck running east on Bear Valley Road near Venn Access Road, which is the only road leading to or from the area where Ketchem encountered the people in the suspicious vehicle.
According to a criminal complaint, Wynn yelled to Derck to stop, but she continued running, prompting a foot chase. Wynn said Derck ran east along the edge of yards along Bear Valley Road before running through a yard and heading north, where she stumbled. Wynn said he grabbed Derck and asked her to identify herself. He said Derck told the officer her name was Amanda Manning before telling him her right name.
After being advised she was under arrest, Derck tried to pull away from the officer and slip her sweatshirt off. As Wynn attempted to handcuff Derck, she began flailing her arms and screaming before being taken to the ground by the officer.
After telling Derck she was going to be charged with resisting arrest, Wynn said Derck continued to fight with him. When Wynn attempted to handcuff Derck again, a struggle ensued in which Derck tried to bite his right hand several times.
When Ketchem arrived at Wynn's location, he identified Derck as the same female who provided him with a false name and date of birth.
During an interview at Coal Township Police Station, Derck told police she had been drinking and using cocaine. When asked by Wynn why she tried to bite him, Derck said she was just trying to get away and apologized to the officer.
Derck was committed to Northumberland County Prison in Sunbury in lieu of $40,000 cash bail.
Derck and her boyfriend, Joseph Patrick Rubendall Jr., 23, of 830 S. River Ave., Sunbury, were charged by Mount Carmel Sgt. Todd Owens and Patrolman Matthew Dillman with felony drug-related offenses involving a heroin transaction July 15 in the parking lot at Turkey Hill Minit Market in Strong.
Rubendall was committed to the county prison in lieu of $100,000 cash bail on the drug charges, while Derck was remanded to the county jail in lieu of $45,000 cash bail.
Derck waived her right to legal counsel and her preliminary hearing July 18 on the drug charges before Magisterial District Judge Hugh Jones of Mount Carmel, who reduced her bail to $45,000 unsecured, which means she didn't have to post any monetary bail. Derck was released from prison July 18 and ordered to comply with supervised bail conditions set by Jones.
She was ordered last month to appear for plea court Aug. 27 at Northumberland County Courthouse, at which time she can plead guilty or no contest, or seek a trial by pleading not guilty.
Rubendall remains incarcerated.