Woman accused of threatening people with machete at Hardee’s makes first court appearance

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - A woman who police say threatened people with a machete outside of a Hardee’s on Carolina Beach Road made her first court appearance.

Jessica Alise Johnson, 46, was arrested and charged on Tuesday, April 21, following a police response at a Hardee’s on the 2500 block of Carolina Beach Road. The Wilmington Police Department (WPD) said it received reports about a woman hitting the windows of the restaurant and threatening people while wielding a machete in the parking lot.

Johnson is facing a slew of misdemeanor charges, including assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a concealed weapon, going armed to the terror of people, communicating threats, second-degree trespass and resisting a public officer.

In court, the prosecution said this incident was not Johnson’s run-in with the law. They said she has charges in nearly a dozen states, but none of those charges involved violence.

An arrest warrant alleges Johnson told someone she’d “chop his head off” and assaulted him by swinging the machete in his direction as she approached.

Police said they de-escalated the situation and arrested Johnson without incident.

The judge set Johnson’s bond at $25,000, citing the primary concern as the potential threat she poses to the public. Additionally, she is banned from all Hardee’s locations.

Johnson is expected back in court on May 5.