New Smyrna Beach, FL – A 54-year-old woman has been arrested after allegedly throwing coffee on a mother, her infant, and their dog in an incident sparked by the mother’s pet not being on a leash. Nina Jaaskelainen faces two counts of battery following an altercation that occurred on Quail Ranch Road.
On Friday morning, deputies responded to reports of an assault that reportedly took place around 8:35 a.m. The victim was walking her dog with her infant son when they approached Jaaskelainen’s property.
According to the victim, Jaaskelainen shouted at her to put her dog on a leash as they walked near the property. Jaaskelainen then allegedly threw coffee on the victim’s dog and continued arguing.
The victim recorded the encounter on her phone, which showed Jaaskelainen behind a gated fence with a coffee mug in hand. The police found dried coffee on the victim, her infant, and her dog when they arrived at the scene.
After the incident, deputies made contact with Jaaskelainen, who admitted to throwing coffee on the dog but claimed it was unintentional that she got the mother and the infant wet. She stated that the action was a response to her concerns about her own dog.
Jaaskelainen was taken into custody without incident and is being held on a $1,000 bond. She is scheduled for a pretrial hearing on December 1, with her trial set to start on December 22.
