MOUNTAIN CITIZEN STAFF

NAUGATUCK, W.Va. — A Logan County, W.Va. woman was arrested Monday following an incident over the weekend during a high school basketball game.

According to the Mingo County Sheriff’s Department release, 24-year-old Michelle Taylor Napier was arrested by Logan County Chief Deputy M. Lafauci for charges including battery and disorderly conduct.

A criminal complaint filed in Mingo County Magistrate Court alleged the altercation occurred Saturday, Jan. 7, during a basketball game at Tug Valley with visiting Logan. Near the end of the game, several individuals, including fans from the stands and coaches, entered the court “in an aggressive manner,” according to the complaint.

Tug Valley administration, along with a deputy working the game, worked to restore order. The gym was near capacity for the contest.

Mingo County Sheriff Joe Smith was attending the game and assisted the lone officer in helping to control the potentially volatile situation.

According to the complaint, an adult Logan fan and a Tug Valley student began screaming and pointing at one another from across the court. Sheriff Smith, in plain clothes, directed the student to leave the gym and proceeded to walk across the court to the adult female to ask her to leave the gym also.

When Sheriff Smith approached the female fan, the complaint alleges Napier advanced to Smith and pushed him multiple times in an “insulting and provoking nature.”

The game was streamed live on Facebook. A video of the altercation was shared on social media.

The sheriff gave Napier a business card and directed her to contact the MCSD office Monday to make arrangements to turn herself in on a misdemeanor warrant.