Drunken Woman Bit Her Brother's Nose, Police Say

A Bethlehem woman punched her brother in the face and bit his nose after he picked her up in his car when she was too drunk to drive, according to court papers.

Bethlehem police were called at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday to the intersection of North Boulevard and West Boulevard where Kristi Lutes, 34, of 1516 Levering Place, told police she had been forced out of her brother’s car, court papers said. The brother then drove away, Lutes told police.

While she spoke to the officer, Lutes was swaying as she stood, slurring her speech and smelling of alcohol, police said. Her eyes were “red and glassy,” according to the arrest affidavit.

Police went to visit Lutes’ brother at his home, where they found him and his girlfriend, who had also been in the car, the affidavit said. Individually, both shared this similar account with police, the affidavit said:

• Soon after her brother picked her up, Lutes became belligerent and began hitting the vehicle’s shifter. When her brother asked her to stop, she punched him in the arm.
• Lutes then became even more upset and tried to climb into the driver’s seat where her brother was operating the car. When her brother pushed her away, she bit his right forearm leaving “a visible outline of her teeth.”
• The brother then pulled the car to the side of the road and Lutes climbed into the driver’s seat and attacked, biting her brother in the nose and punching him in the area of his left eye. Police noted redness and swelling in both areas.
• Lutes’ brother opened the driver’s side door, where they both fell out of the car. The brother then got back into the car, with his girlfriend, and drove away, leaving Lutes behind.

Lutes was charged with simple assault, harassment and public drunkenness. She was arraigned before on-duty District Judge Joseph Barner and released on $2,500 unsecured bail.