HAMLET — A domestic violence call over the weekend led to assault, weapon and drug charges for a Scotland County woman.
Officers with the Hamlet Police Department say they met the alleged victim at the Circle K convenience store Sunday, who told them that 27-year-old Ariel Denisha Malloy Ratcliff, of Laurinburg, had pointed a gun at her and rammed her car.
The victim, also from Laurinburg, was taking her passenger back to Richmond Pines, according to police.
While officers were speaking with the victim, Ratcliff reportedly pulled up at the gas station and drove off quickly. She was later spotted, leading police on a “slow-speed chase,” with speeds not exceeding 45 mph, police say, with Ratcliff refusing to pull over.
The chase ended when Ratcliff reportedly pulled behind Richmond Pines and couldn’t go anywhere.
Officers searched the car and found a Hi-Point 9mm handgun and a box of 9mm ammunition and 14 grams of MDMA, otherwise known as Ecstasy or Molly, according to the incident report.
Ratcliff was arrested and charged with: possession of a Schedule I controlled substance; fleeing to elude arrest with a motor vehicle; carrying a concealed gun; assault by pointing a gun; and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.
She was booked into the Richmond County Jail where she was still being held Tuesday under a $100,000 secured bond. Ratcliff is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 20.
Online state records show Ratcliff has no other pending charges or prior criminal convictions in North Carolina.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
