DALTON, Ga. — A Dalton woman was arrested last week after using a cane to force her way into her 79-year-old neighbor’s house and leaving the woman with cuts, bruises and a “badly sprained” wrist, according to an incident report.

Kimberly Johns, 57, of 4477 Polly Road N.E., was charged by the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office with home invasion with a deadly weapon, battery against a person 65 years or older, two counts of criminal trespass and obstructing an emergency call.

“I’m OK,” said Dora Coram, who contacted police Thursday morning after the incident that occurred the previous night. “I’m still a little bruised. She just pushed her way in. I hadn’t had anything to do with her before.” 

Johns has a different version of the night’s events, but said she couldn’t tell them yet. 

“It is not true,” Johns said. “I was told to remain silent without an attorney. I would like for my side to be known, but until I speak to my lawyer I don’t need to say anything.”

Coram told police that Johns was beating on her front door around 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday. She said when she opened the door Johns, whom she recognized as a neighbor, was “fussing” and trying to force her way into the house. Coram said she told Johns to leave but that when she tried to shut the front door, Johns pushed her back and, according to the incident report, “used her cane to fight with her to get inside.” Coram said she could tell Johns had been drinking, and she said Johns grabbed her by the arm to stop her from using the phone.

In the report, Coram said they began to “scuffle” around, and Coram said she fell backward, hitting the wall and some items in the floor. A wax melt that was plugged into the wall threw wax “over the wall area and freezer,” and some mini-blinds were broken.

More “tussling” ensued, and Coram yelled for her granddaughter, Holly Harrington, who lives in the home, to help her. Attempts to reach Harrington were unsuccessful.

In the report, Harrington, 31, said she woke up to hear her grandmother yelling and found Johns in the hall. She told Johns to leave the house, and said Johns said she wasn’t “leaving until this is settled.” Harrington said she could tell Johns had been drinking when she stumbled and fell into a recliner in the living room. Johns then left the house. Harrington said after that she was focused on getting Coram’s hand to stop bleeding since she is on blood thinners and didn’t call police because “she is on probation and was fearful to be in trouble.”

Officers noted Coram’s injuries, including “blood pooling under the skin on the upper arms … bruising … a cut to her right hand … right wrist had some swelling and pooling blood at the surface of the skin and appeared to possibly be fractured.” Harrington told an officer later that a visit to the emergency room determined that the wrist was not broken, but “badly sprained.”

According to the incident report, deputies spoke to Johns and she denied going to Coram’s home and “has no knowledge of any incident.” She said two nights earlier Harrington’s boyfriend came over to her house. Johns told the deputies when Harrington “saw him there she came over and became confrontational” with her, “put her chest out” and “got all over me.”

She told deputies she spoke to someone at the sheriff’s office about the incident, but couldn’t give the deputies a case number or say who she spoke with. She said she didn’t call 911 because her mother and Coram used to work together. 

Johns was released from jail Friday on a $5,000 bond and has not had a court date set yet.