An Altoona woman tried to seduce a state trooper when he arrived at a city residence to question her about a reported drunken driving incident, police allege.
Monica M. Barnhart, 40, of 415 Old Mill Run Road allegedly stood in the doorway of a Hudson Avenue home wearing nothing but a green top and her underwear while holding two yellow roses that she told the state trooper were for him as part of her "cop fantasy," court records show.
It was 1:45 p.m. on March 20 when Trooper Thomas Laskey arrived at 1224 Hudson Ave. after another motorist called in a suspected drunken driver headed southbound on Interstate 99 in Logan Township. The car, a red Chevrolet Monte Carlo, was swerving across both lanes with its speed ranging from 40 to 90 mph, police said.
The driver followed the Monte Carlo as it exited 17th Street until it was parked on the 1200 block of Hudson Avenue, police said. The driver watched as a woman with dark hair, wearing a green top and jeans, got out of the car and entered a house across the street, police said.
Laskey wrote in Barnhart's arrest papers that he saw she wasn't wearing any pants as he approached the door and she denied she had been driving the car. When Barnhart tried to give him the roses, Laskey told her he didn't want any flowers, records indicate.
Laskey also noted Barnhart reeked of alcohol and said she didn't live at the residence. The officer briefly suspected Barnhart might have broken into the home until he learned Barnhart knew the homeowner.
Barnhart was ultimately taken into custody after Laskey had her retrieve her jeans, and she was taken to Altoona Regional for a blood test.
Police said Barnhart had a blood alcohol content of 0.356 and that she eventually admitted she was driving the Monte Carlo.
Barnhart is charged with driving under the influence and several traffic violations, including reckless driving, and is due to appear May 15 before Magisterial District Judge Fred Miller.
Barnhart's attorney, Joel Peppetti, said his client maintains she is not guilty.
