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Woman accused of causing lockdown ruckus

WARREN — A woman pleaded not guilty to charges Friday in Warren Municipal Court after police said she tried to take her children from McGuffey PK-8 while the school was on lockdown because of a tornado warning Thursday afternoon, according to a police report.

Raquel Mostella, 30, was charged with felonious assault and misconduct during an emergency. She was booked Thursday into the Trumbull County Jail and released on bond several hours later, according to jail records.

She is scheduled to appear Oct. 19 for a hearing, according to court records.

After the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning at 2:15 p.m. Thursday, several local schools were placed on lock down. The warning was extended from 2:45 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., and dismissal is at 3:15 p.m.

Mostella arrived just before the warning expired, at 3:28 p.m, according to the report.

“Mostella was advised, the same as all the other parents, that kids could not be released during a lockdown,” according to the report, written by Warren police officer Nicole Coulter.

An administrator called for Coulter to assist with a parent who was yelling that she was taking her children. Coulter stood between the woman and a hallway where “hundreds” of children were waiting, the report states.

While holding a toddler, the woman “attempted to walk down the hallway and walk through me, pushing into me,” Coulter wrote in the report.

The woman was “infuriated” when Coulter placed her hand on her wrist and yelled threats at the officer, the report states.

Other officers showed up to assist Coulter. The woman continued to use profanity and was arrested on the charges.

The woman’s sister was called to pick up the woman’s children.

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