Woman charged with kidnapping waives right to jury

A woman accused of chasing down and threatening boys who rang her doorbell as a prank has waived her right to a jury trial.

Ashley D. Crossland, 31, last week waived her right to a jury trial, instead opting for a bench trial in front of judge Calvin Holden.

In a bench trial, prosecutors and defense attorneys present evidence and arguments to the judge, who makes a decision of guilt or innocence.

According to a probable cause statement, the boys were ringing doorbells and running away from houses in the area of the 1800 block of South Weller Avenue and nearby streets one evening in January 2014.

One of the boys, identified only as "J.D.," told officers they went up to a house a couple of blocks away, on East Lindberg Street, where "a lady came out and started yelling at him." The woman was later identified as Crossland.

When Crossland came outside, the boys ran off, with most going in one direction but J.D. going in another direction.

J.D. said he started walking when he got around the corner, but then saw a van come around the corner, "driving crazy," according to the report.

He said he started running again and Crossland tried to run over him when he was in the grass off the roadway.

Once he was backed up against a fence, the woman started yelling at him and got out of the vehicle, the statement says.

The boy told police Crossland told him to get in the van or she would cut him. He said he didn't see a knife but got into the van because he didn't want to get cut, according to the document.

The statement says the woman removed a type of hunting knife and pointed it at the boy while he was seated in the passenger seat. The boy said the woman referred to him using several racial slurs and "told him she was going to murder him and slit his throat and his family's throats."

The boy directed Crossland to a nearby home where he and the other boys and young man were sleeping over for the night. The statement says Crossland followed the boy to the door.

A man at the house where his son and the other boys were staying told police that J.D. ran into the house crying and told him what had happened. The man said he didn't previously know the boys were ringing doorbells.

The man said he could hear a woman yelling — inside his house — and he ran upstairs and saw Crossland standing a few feet inside his entryway.

He said Crossland left the house but continued yelling and made the threats to slit throats, according to the statement.

The man said he closed the door and called police.

A few days later, Crossland voluntarily went to the police station for an interview, in which she "admitted she drove her van and tried to catch the male who rang her doorbell," according to the statement.

She told police she was "beyond pissed off." She said she did drive in the grass and tell the boy to get into her van because she was going to take him to his parents or call the police.

She denied threatening to cut the boy but said she might have threatened to "break his arm next time or something," the statement says.

Police asked Crossland why she didn't just call the police; she reportedly said she did not know.

Prosecutors charged Crossland with five felonies including kidnapping, armed criminal action, burglary, assault and unlawful use of a weapon. She was also charged with misdemeanor assault and harassment.

Crossland's bench trial has been scheduled for March 17, according to court records.