DELAND, Fla. – A woman was arrested Wednesday after using a machete to hold passengers on a DeLand bus hostage, according to the police department.
Ciasha Fletcher, 35, is now being held in the Volusia County jail.
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An affidavit shows police responded to the DeLand Intermodal Transit Facility around 4 p.m. on Aug. 9 after receiving reports about the assault.
Police said Fletcher was refusing to let anyone on a Votran bus leave, threatening them with a machete.
While the bus passengers were able to get off the bus, police found Fletcher with the machete still in her possession, the affidavit states.
According to investigators, she dropped it after being challenged by police, though a pocket knife was also found in her bra after she was handcuffed.
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Fletcher told officers she had been trying to get her wallet back from someone, police said.
After speaking with witnesses, police learned Fletcher had gone up to a couple on the bus, accusing them of stealing her wallet and then pulling out the machete, according to the affidavit.
The man pushed Fletcher out of the way and ran off the bus, with his girlfriend leaving after him, police said.
The bus driver told investigators Fletcher then used the knife and “held other passengers in place so they could not move and get off the bus,” police said.
Ultimately, Fletcher was taken into custody. Officers said while on the way to the police department, Fletcher stated she would find the man she threatened and “cut off his hands” when she bonded out of jail.
Fletcher faces two counts of false imprisonment and a charge of aggravated assault. She is held on no bond.
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