North Smithfield woman charged for alleged assault on her friend – and a Woonsocket police officer

WOONSOCKET – A North Smithfield woman was discharged from Landmark Medical Center after an alcohol evaluation – possibly a little too soon.

Samantha L. Plante, 32, of 502 Victory Highway, faces two counts of assault – one of them involving a policeman – vandalism and disorderly conduct after a violent incident that began at 281 South Main St. on Thursday, May 22.

When officers arrived at the residence about 2 a.m. in response to a noise investigation, police said they encountered an adult female – a tenant of the residence – outside with a bloody lip and scratches on her face, as well as a parked Mitsubishi with a shattered windshield, according to reports.

“This crazy girl was here,” the injured woman told officers. “She’s my friend,” she added, identifying the individual as Plante.

The woman told police Plante started “tweaking out” after her boyfriend picked her up from the hospital about two hours earlier. A confrontation broke out when the woman asked Plante to stop making so much noise – she was shouting – because children were in the house sleeping. Plante ignored her and “played” with her cell phone, she told police.

When the woman tried to take the phone from Plante to get her attention, she became physically violent, punching her repeatedly. Then Plante left the residence to go outside, at which point the woman said she heard what sounded like Plante “punching” the windshield of her car. 

Police found Plante lying on the ground in a nearby parking lot a short time later, unable to walk due to an ankle injury. Police said Plante told them she suffered the injury when her boyfriend pushed her, but officers found no evidence to back up the claim, and no one has been charged with assaulting her.

Due to her injuries, police brought Plante back to LMC so her condition could be evaluated. She was later discharged to police custody with a pair of crutches.

While she was being processed in the booking area, police say Plante forcefully slapped the crutches away from Sgt. Michael Theroux as he was handing them to her. That’s when one of the crutches struck another officer, Patrolman Amine Malik, in the groin, according to police reports.

Already facing one count of assault for striking her friend, Plante was then charged with a second for the crutch incident.