HADLEY — A Golden Court resident who was set to go to trial this week on a number of felony charges, after allegedly using hives of bees to attack Hampden County sheriff’s office deputies during an anti-eviction action in Longmeadow in 2022, was arrested on a failure to appear warrant in Tennessee on Thursday night, according to the Hampden County district attorney’s office
Rorie Susan Woods, 58, also known as Rebecca Woods, was taken into custody at a hotel and, after a court appearance in Tennessee, is expected to be extradited back to Massachusetts.
Woods’ trial had been scheduled to begin in Springfield District Court Tuesday, but she didn’t show for that, prompting a judge to issue a non-bailable warrant, according to the sheriff’s office.
Woods, of 29 Golden Court, is facing four counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (bees), three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and disorderly conduct.
The incident occurred Oct. 12 at a Memery Lane home in Longmeadow, with Woods arriving in a vehicle towing a trailer filled with manufactured bee hives, which she allegedly flipped off the flatbed, making them aggressive and stinging several deputies and other bystanders there.
After donning a professional beekeeper’s suit and bringing a tower of bees into the home, she was arrested and later booked at the Western Massachusetts Regional Women’s Correctional Facility in Chicopee.
One representative from the sheriff’s office who was stung by the bees was treated and released at a hospital.
Woods previously had operated Abundant Harvest Apiary.
