A woman is accused of discharging a gun inside and then acting "like she did not know what had just occurred."
Angela Tippett, 40, already left Johnny D's when police were called for the report of a weapon discharged, according to the charges.
A single cartridge was found near the register with a hole in a door, Assistant Prosecutor Harlee Stein said during a detention hearing Wednesday.
Police reviewed security footage and saw Tippett fumbling with an object in the front pouch of her sweatshirt, Stein relayed. A single cartridge is then seen coming out of her pocket.
"She acted like she did not know what had just occurred," Stein told the judge of the May 13 incident. "The defendant stayed on scene, completing her food order and left out of the establishment."
But defense attorney Robert Boney said that narrative made no sense.
"In my experience, when people commit a crime, they usually leave the area," he said. "They don't stay there and complete a food order. There's something amiss here, your honor, that does not make sense."
He noted that Tippett has no criminal conviction history and no history of weapons or violence. She was arrested days later, and no gun has been recovered.
While Tippett may not have convictions, she has now racked up 28 charges in less than a year, Judge Dorothy Garrabrant noted.
She was on pretrial release with 22 pending charges over three cases at the time of the incident, including drug distribution, assaultive behavior and endangering, Stein said.
Tippett also had a failure to appear for a court hearing this month, but both she and her attorney explained that she had not been notified due to recently moving from Egg Harbor Township to Pleasantville.
Regardless the judge agreed with the state's assertions that Tippett is a danger.
"We are concerned that she would be walking around in public with this item in her pocket while all of these chares are pending," Stein said. "Someone could have been harmed very severely if not killed."
Tippett will remain in the Atlantic County Justice Facility while her cases goes through court.
