Bizarre food fight, stabbing between Murfreesboro neighbors leads to assault charge

The only way to stop a bad guy with a knife is a good guy with a ketchup bottle, apparently.

Murfreesboro woman Shalonda Latrice Shepard has been charged with aggravated assault and criminal trespass after a bizarre food-involved incident.

The charges stem from a May 31 altercation in an apartment complex in the 400 block of Vine Street in Murfreesboro.

Food fight gone wrong

According to a Murfreesboro police report filed by Officer Joshua Prasser, an argument between neighbors escalated into a full assault.

Shepard, the report states, began yelling and banging on the door of a neighbor's apartment sometime before 2:45 a.m. The residents, a married couple, opened the door to her, at which point she threw a bowl of sugar over both of them.

Next, she pulled out a steak knife and began stabbing the female resident, Prasser's report states.

The woman's husband went back into the apartment to grab something to help, Prasser wrote.

The man then "came outside with a bottle of ketchup and squirted it as Ms. Shepard, which cause her to stop stabbing his wife," the report stated. "Ms. Shepard became very angry about the ketchup and stated she was going to 'take care of them in the morning,' and fled to her apartment."

Treatment for injuries

The couple spoke to detectives at St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital where they were receiving care. The female resident of the apartment had lacerations on her left elbow, left upper back and small cuts to her stomach, the report indicated.

Shepard was released on a $20,500 bond from the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center. Her first hearing is set for July 10.

Reach Mariah Timms at mtimms@dnj.com or 615-278-5164 and on Twitter @MariahTimms.