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Mass. woman accused of attacking sheriff’s deputies with bees in 2022 arrested in Tennessee
Rorie Susan Woods was arrested at a hotel in Tennessee last week after failing to appear for her Massachusetts trial.
A Hadley woman accused of unleashing a swarm of bees on sheriff’s deputies in 2022 was arrested in Tennessee last week after she failed to appear for her trial.
Rorie Susan Woods, also known as Rebecca Woods, was apprehended at a Tennessee hotel Thursday, two days after her trial was due to begin in Springfield District Court, according to the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office.
Woods made national headlines after she allegedly confronted deputies who were enforcing an eviction in Longmeadow in October 2022. Authorities say Woods pulled up to the scene with beehives in tow, removed the lids, and agitated the bees, causing them to swarm and sting both deputies and bystanders.
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“A Sheriff’s deputy tried to stop her, but as the agitated bees started getting out and circling the area, he pulled back,” the sheriff’s office said at the time. “She then smashed the lid, and flipped a hive off of the flatbed, making the bees extremely aggressive. They swarmed the area and stung several officers and other innocent bystanders who were nearby.”
Some of the people stung were allergic, and one person was hospitalized, the sheriff’s office said. When a deputy informed Woods he and several other officers were allergic to bees, she purportedly replied, “Oh, you’re allergic? Good,” MassLive reported.
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Woods allegedly donned a beekeeper suit and carried another hive toward the home before her arrest. She has pleaded not guilty to four counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, and one count of disorderly conduct.
Woods, who is representing herself in the case, previously operated Abundant Harvest Apiary, according to The Daily Hampshire Gazette. Following her arraignment in Tennessee, she’s slated for extradition to Massachusetts to face trial, the sheriff’s office said.
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