Guilty plea comes in doorbell prank case; woman assaulted boy, shouted slurs

A Springfield woman has pleaded guilty to three felonies after police say she chased down and threatened boys who rang her doorbell as a prank.

Ashley D. Crossland, 32, pleaded guilty on March 17 to burglary, assault and unlawful use of a weapon. In exchange for her plea, charges of kidnapping, armed criminal action and several misdemeanors were dismissed.

Prosecuting attorney Philip Fuhrman said as part of the plea agreement Crossland will be sentenced to 10 years in prison. Fuhrman said prosecutors are opposing probation, but a judge will decide May 15 whether or not Crossland will be eligible for the lesser sentence.

In an initial probable cause statement in the case, police said the boys angered the female resident to the point that she tried to run one down with her van, punched another three times while holding a knife to his chest and threatened to kill the boys and others, all while shouting racial slurs.

Crossland also was accused of following one boy to the house where the boys were having a sleepover and illegally entered the home. Confronted by the father of one of the boys, Crossland allegedly "threatened to slit his throat and everyone's throats in the house, including the babies."

In late January, Crossland waived her right to a jury trial, instead opting for a bench trial in front of judge Calvin Holden. She pleaded guilty at that bench trial on Feb. 17, according to court records.

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.