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Mom who beat bus driver will spend no time in jail

Mom who beat bus driver gets no jailtime
Mom who beat bus driver gets no jailtime
Mom who beat bus driver gets no jailtime
Mom who beat bus driver gets no jailtime
Posted at 1:01 PM, Feb 14, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-14 13:02:28-05

CINCINNATI -- A Westwood mom who beat her daughter's bus driver will not spend time in jail, a Hamilton County judge decided Tuesday.

Kiesha Shannon, 28, was found guilty of assault following an altercation with her young daughter's bus driver. The charge is a fifth degree felony, so Shannon was given probation and community service.

"Ms. Shannon feels terrible about what happened here," Shannon's attorney said during Tuesday's sentencing hearing. "She made some bad choices and caused a scene in front of little children and she feels terrible."

 

The incident started out harmlessly, according to bus driver Deamber Martin.

Shannon was dropping her daughter off at a bus stop and then called the girl back into the car for a goodbye kiss. Martin, who said she had warned Shannon that the bus would leave if her daughter were not ready on time, pulled away before the girl could get on board.

Shannon parked her car in front and forced it to stop, according to police. She then pried open the doors, shouting at the Martin, and attacked her. The attack left the Martin with injuries to her face, police said, which were treated at a nearby hospital after Shannon's arrest.

Injuries sustained in the October incident still affect Martin, who limped to the front of the courtroom Tuesday to testify before Shannon's sentencing.

"I encountered a biting to the right ear, scratches and bruises to my face, a fracture to my nose, a busted blood vessel to my right eye which has now left my vision blurry, exposure to bodily fluid when (Shannon) spit in my face twice...muscle, neck and back pain," Martin said in court Tuesday. The back pain now includes two herneated discs which will lead to surgery."

Judge Charles Kubicki told Shannon that, while she was not serving jailtime, if she "touched (Martin) again," he would "make sure (she) went to prison for no less than a year."

"I can't begin to share with you my disgust at what you did," the judge said. "It's outrageous behavior and there's no justification for what you did."

The attack was also caught on the bus' surveillance video.

In the video, the bus stops and several children board, followed by an adult woman. The woman begins shouting, asking the driver if she saw her.

As the woman continues shouting, she seems to say "If I punch you in the f---ing face, you're going to be sorry you did" before telling a nearby child to "get on the bus."

"I don't know who the f--- you think you is," the woman continues at the driver, and then they begin to fight. Several children begin crying "mommy."

As the women grapple with each other, another adult boards the bus and tries to separate them. During this, one girl can be seen turning away and covering her eyes with her hands and hair. She then helps another, smaller girl away toward the back of the bus and hugs her as the younger girl cries.