TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — A Tallahassee woman is facing felony charges after deputies say got into an argument with a parent at Cobb Middle School before pulling out a metal baton and threatening assault.
Quteach Key-Strong, 40, was arrested Wednesday after a Leon County judge found probable cause to charge her with improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon on school grounds, which is a third degree felony.
On April 16, court documents say a school resource deputy at Cobb Middle School was contacted by the assistant principal about a disturbance between two parents that happened after school let out the day before. The assistant principal told the deputy that the dispute happened in front of parent drop-off.
When the deputy reviewed the school cameras, Key-Strong was seen pulling her car into the parent pick-up before getting out of the car and yelling at a child sitting on a bench. Key-Strong continued yelling and following the child until the child's mother arrived and got out of the car.
That's when Key-Strong and the other parent got into a verbal argument. Eventually, Key-Strong was captured on video walking back to her car and pulling out a "cylindrical object that resembles a baton."
"Through training and experience," the deputy wrote in a probable cause report, "I know this weapon to be hard and with enough force can cause death or serious bodily injury."
Documents say Key-Strong then walked around the parking lot swinging the baton by her side, while walking toward the other parent in an aggressive manner. The other parent was then seen grabbing an umbrella from her car, but wasn't swinging it threateningly.
Video captured multiple people, including students, trying to break up the fight. While that was happening, document say the other parent put her child inside her car and returned the umbrella. Key-Strong also put the baton away, but continued to aggressively walk toward the other parent. Eventually, the other parent left the scene and the assistant principal began talking to Key-Strong, telling her to leave the school with her child or law enforcement would be called.
When deputies and the assistant principal spoke to Key-Strong on April 16, she stated that she had come to the school to address a cyberbullying issue but, when she was asked about the incident the day before, she refused to talk and left.
Documents say four students corroborated the video evidence, saying that Key-Strong was also yelling at nearby students and chased some of them onto school property.
"From witness statements and video evidence, Key-Strong did not appear to be acting in self-defense but was, in fact, the primary aggressor in this incident," the school resource deputy wrote.
Based on the evidence, the school resource deputy requested a warrant for Key-Strong's arrest that was granted by a Leon County judge on April 29. On Wednesday, Key-Strong was taken into custody. She was later released from jail on pre-trial supervision.
