A Demotte resident was arrested Wednesday on charges of criminal mischief and resisting law enforcement after the Indiana State Police said that she damaged a motel room in Jasper County under the influence of bath salts.

According to police, at 10:07 a.m. a trooper was dispatched to a motel on Ind. 114, just off the I-65 exit in Rensselaer, in response to a report of a person’s damaging a room. There he found Tammy E. Winter, 42, sitting on the bed. “She was rambling about evil spirits and needing to write on the walls of the hotel room to protect her from the spirits,” police said. “A family member was on scene and said Tammy is a known abuser of bath salts,” which when snorted cause hallucinations.

Winter was arrested on a charge of criminal mischief due to the damage, medically cleared at Jasper County Hospital, then transported to Jasper County Jail, police said. An additional charge of resisting law enforcement was filed against Winter when she “became combative and needed to be restrained.”

Posted 5/12/2011