A Somers Point woman accused of brandishing a knife and taser during a robbery attempt will stay jailed.
Sarah Watson, 35, already had a pending hindering and drugs case when she was arrested Friday at Harrah's Atlantic City.
She was allegedly at the casino with others when there was an argument.
"The defendant became irate and pulled out a knife and taser while demanding $700," Assistant Prosecutor Harlee Stein said, reading from the affidavit.
She allegedly held the knife toward one victim's throat, and made calls to others indicating she had the weapons.
But defense attorney Raquel DeStefano said it was Watson who told the group to call police, and that she waited for the officers to arrive.
"It was a dispute over money where everyone was intoxicated but no actual threats happened," DeStefano told the judge.
The attorney acknowledged that Watson was arrested with a knife and taser, but that she never used them. Instead, she said those who talked to police had seen them in her purse.
"I don't believe for a minute that she didn't use the taser and knife," Superior Court Judge Patricia Wild said while rendering her decision.
The judge also read the alleged threat Watson made at the time: "I know people who are gangbangers and will come back and get you."
"What?" Watson could be seen saying via video from the jail.
She was muted but it appeared that she said, "I never said that."
Watson also had an active warrant in a pending prostitution case at the time of her arrest, the judge noted, indicating that it appeared Watson was still engaging in that activity.
She also was sentenced to four years in prison in 2016, the judge said.
Court records show that was a drug case in which she was required to serve at least two years.
She also has prior charges that include making a false report, for which she was given a suspended sentence in 2019.
Her previous charges also included child abuse, Wild said.
Watson is a longtime county resident and has lived in Somers Point for more than five years, DeStefano told the judge.
She said her client lives with her four children and her mother.
Watson will now remain in the Atlantic County Justice Facility while her case goes through the court.
