Hempfield woman pleads guilty in coffee, urine tossing cases

A Hempfield woman has pleaded guilty in connection with three incidents last year in which investigators said she assaulted a police officer, a deputy sheriff and a prison guard.

Sonya Rae Connors, 53, was sentenced by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio to serve up to 23 months in jail and two years on probation.

She was given credit for the nine months she served behind bars since her arrest and was paroled.

According to court records, Connors had been free on bail since since September.

Police said Connors’ crime spree started on Jan. 5, 2020, at a Burger King restaurant in Youngwood, where an assistant manager claimed Connors walked into the kitchen and stole a cup of coffee. When confronted, she pushed the employee and fled to a nearby convenience store, according to court records.

Authorities said that police later found Connors in the convenience store. They said she did not comply with officers and as they attempted to take her into custody. She pulled away and threw a cup of hot coffee at a state trooper.

Connors pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. She was ordered to repay Burger King $1.49 for the coffee and another $2.69 for a flavored fruit juice that a convenience story employee told police she had previously stolen, according to court records.

Police said the next day, on Jan. 6, 2020, Connors spit at a deputy sheriff who had transported her to a district court office for an arraignment hearing. Connors pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault in that case.

Connors also pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated assault of a prison guard in connection with an incident last April 16 at Westmoreland County Prison in which police said she threw a cup of urine at a jail guard.