A Schuylkill County woman faces an indecent exposure charge after police say a borough employee reported she approached a street sweeper while naked.
Alysha Hartshorn, 39, of Tamaqua, is charged with a misdemeanor count of indecent exposure, a misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct, and a summary count of public drunkenness.
Police say they initially had contact with Hartshorn earlier on the morning of June 19 when officers observed her dancing near the Five Points intersection. Officers transported her to her residence, where police say she initially refused to go inside, wandered around, and began taking off her clothes. Police state she was directed into her home and told to stay inside.
At about 5:30 a.m. that day, police say they were dispatched to the area of Berwick and W. Rowe streets near a bank for a report of a naked woman dancing.
A borough street department employee told police he was conducting street sweeping on W. Broad St. when he observed Hartshorn “spread eagle” in the bank lot. The employee stated that Hartshorn approached the side window of the street sweeper while naked and was “playing” with it.
Arriving officers found Hartshorn standing midway up a set of “iron steps,” police say. Officers report she was wearing an unbuttoned camouflage top and a sports bra, but had no shoes or pants, exposing her lower half. Police say she was “all over the place and clearly under the influence of a controlled substance” before being taken into custody.
A preliminary hearing for the June 19 incident is scheduled for July 28.
The new charges come while Hartshorn has three other criminal cases pending in the Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas, including charges stemming from a four-hour police standoff in March.
In that case, police say they were dispatched to a Washington Street residence on March 14 for a reported disturbance. A resident and his friend reported that Hartshorn forced her way through a basement door, grabbed two rifles and a box of ammunition, and barricaded herself in a second-floor bedroom.
State Police activated their Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) during the incident. After an armored vehicle was used to lift tactical officers to a second-story window and a drone was sent inside, Hartshorn surrendered on the front porch at about 3:55 a.m.
According to court records, Hartshorn also faces charges from two earlier domestic incidents at the same residence:
- Feb. 22: Police say Hartshorn allegedly struck her husband in the head with an ashtray during a verbal argument. She was charged with simple assault and harassment, and her bail conditions ordered her to have no contact with her husband or be at the residence.
- Jan. 3: Hartshorn was accused of being abusive to three children. Court records state she was charged with simple assault and three counts of harassment after being accused of pulling one child by the mouth, throwing a shoe at a second child, and throwing a vape at a third.
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