SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts woman is facing multiple assault and battery charges, accused of releasing a swarm of bees on sheriff’s deputies as they tried to serve an eviction notice. Masslive.com reported Wednesday (Oct. 19, 2022) that 55-year-old Rorie Woods pleaded not guilty at her arraignment Oct. 12 and was released without bail. Hampden County deputies were met by protesters at the home in Longmeadow. Authorities say Woods arrived with the hives on a trailer and caused hundreds of bees to swarm out, stinging deputies, including three who are allergic to bees. The Massachusetts Alliance Against Predatory Lending says it was a wrongful eviction. The sheriff’s department says deputies were simply doing their jobs.
Rorie S. Woods, 55, of Hadley, Mass., left, and a Hampden County Sheriff’s Department officer, right, vie for control of containers of bees, in Longmeadow, Mass., Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022. Woods is facing multiple assault and battery charges for allegedly releasing a swarm of bees on a group of sheriff’s deputies, some of them allergic to bee stings, as they tried to serve an eviction notice, authorities said. (Robert Rizzuto/Hampden County Sheriff’s Department via AP)
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