PORT ANGELES — A naked woman ransacked the Chestnut Cottage restaurant early Saturday before streaking across East Front Street and locking herself in an occupied motel room, police said.
Lytezia Rose Montes, 27, resisted arrest after barricading herself in an Aircrest Motel room at about 5 a.m. Saturday, Port Angeles police said.
She was charged in Clallam County Superior Court on Tuesday with single counts of second-degree burglary and residential burglary.
“Were this court to release this lady, a civil commitment proceeding would be initiated and she would be put in a safe place,” Defense Attorney Harry Gasnick said in court Tuesday.
“Presumably, she would be in that safe place until she is doing better from a behavioral perspective.”
Superior Court Judge Lauren Erickson set Montes’ bail at $1,000 and ordered her to undergo a competency evaluation. She scheduled a competency review hearing for 9 a.m. Friday.
After her arrest, Montes was treated at Olympic Medical Center for cuts and behavioral health issues related to drug use, Deputy Chief of Police Jason Viada said.
City Fire Department medics used two doses of ketamine to calm Montes down for the short trip to the hospital, according to the affidavit for probable cause.
“She urgently needed emergency medical care,” Viada said in a Tuesday interview.
“She needed medical care for physical injuries, probably due to broken glass, but more urgently to counteract the effects of whatever drugs she had used.”
Police were called to the Chestnut Cottage eatery at about 4:38 a.m. Saturday to investigate a report of a naked woman inside the building.
“The lobby inside the restaurant appeared to be ransacked,” Officer Sean Ryan wrote in his arrest narrative.
“Drawers were open and items littered the floor. There was broken glass and what appeared to be a large puddle of balsamic vinegar in the area between the lobby and dining room.”
The owners of the restaurant identified clothing that did not belong to them strewn around the business, police said.
“I observed what appeared to be blood on the floor behind the lobby counter, near the cash register,” Ryan wrote.
“I also saw what appeared to be blood on the floor near both open windows.”
Viada did not have an estimate for the property damage to the business.
“Every restaurant that you can think of is struggling to get back on its feet post-pandemic, and this is just one more thing that is making it harder for small businesses to thrive,” Viada said in a telephone interview.
“This is the last thing a small business needs right now.”
While investigating the burglary, officers heard a man yelling from across Front Street at the Aircrest Motel.
The witness told officers that he had been smoking a cigarette when an unknown naked woman had run into his room and would not let him inside, Viada said.
Ryan and Port Angeles Police Cpl. Jeff Ordona found a suspect later identified as Montes inside the room.
“I told Lytezia to come outside but she refused and tried to close the door,” Ryan said.
“I was able to keep the door from closing and told the woman that she was under arrest.”
Montes backed herself into the restroom with Ryan and Ordona pulling on her wrists, court papers said.
“Lytezia spoke at a rapid pace and said things that didn’t make sense,” Ryan wrote in his report.
“She continued to struggle against us,” he added. “At some point, I was able to place handcuffs on her wrists.”
Ordona covered Montes with a blanket.
“She screamed and talked about being burned and ground up,” Ryan said in the probable cause statement.
“She clawed at me, kicked her legs and tried to roll over.”
Montes interrupted court proceedings Tuesday while deputy prosecutor Zachary Snipe recited her criminal history and requested a $25,000 bail.
“I’m not going anywhere anyway,” Montes said.
“It’s OK. I’m not going anywhere.”
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
