OCEAN CITY — An Ocean City woman, arrested twice within a few hours two weeks ago on assault charges after first hitting her fiancé with a can of beer and later attacking him with a can of beans, was up to her old tricks this week after repeatedly slapping the victim for taking the last can of cold beer before jumping off a second-floor balcony to elude police.

On Feb. 5, Kathleen Theresa Machen, 47, was arrested on second-degree assault charges after allegedly attacking her fiancé by hitting him in the head with a can of beer. Ocean City police responded to a residence on Philadelphia Ave. near 12th Street and placed Machen under arrest on a second-degree assault charge.

After the arrest for second-degree assault, Machen was taken before a District Court Commissioner and was released on her own recognizance with the specific stipulation she was not to return to the residence nor have any contact with the victim. Apparently, she did not heed that warning and returned to the residence to allegedly assault the victim again.

Around 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 6, police responded to the residence on Philadelphia Ave. for a reported assault. Officer arrived and met with the victim, who was bleeding from the head. The victim told police he had been attacked while sleeping in his room by his fiancé, identified as Machen.

The victim told police he had been sleeping in his room alone when Machen came in and attacked him with a metal can of beans, striking him repeatedly in the head and causing several bleeding head wounds. The victim told police he was able to get Machen off of him and get out of the room before fleeing to a friend’s room, where he called the police.

Police located Machen a short time later and attempted to place her under arrest for the second time in a matter of hours. During the arrest attempt, Machen allegedly resisted police, but was eventually subdued and taken into custody. As a result of the second alleged attack, Machen was charged with first- and second-degree assault, malicious destruction of property and resisting arrest. She was taken before a District Court Commissioner again and was released with the stipulation she was not to return to the residence or have any contact with the victim.

On Monday, two weeks after the first two assault arrests, an OCPD officer was conducting a business check at the Americana Hotel on 9th Street on the second floor in the area of room 214. The officer reported he clearly heard an unidentified woman yelling and screaming profanities about someone in the room opening the last cold beer. The officer continued to listen but the argument subsided.

The officer then continued to walk through the hotel and heard the same woman yelling and screaming profanities at an unidentified male in the area of room 114. According to his report, the officer then realized the original argument was coming from room 114 and not 214 as he suspected and that the argument was so loud he could hear it from the second floor. The officer continued to listen to the female screaming at the male about the beer.

The officer then heard “the distinct sound of a smack,” and it was clear the sound was from a person making contact with another person. After hearing repeated smacks, the officer heard the male victim say “get the [expletive deleted] off me.” The officer reported hearing at least three more smacks allegedly from the female suspect, later identified as Machen. The officer then pounded on the door and announced he was a police officer.

The victim eventually opened the door and the officer asked him to come out in the hallway to speak with him. The victim told police Machen had smacked him in the face several times and when asked what caused the altercation, the victim told police it was over “something stupid,” and that Machen was blaming him for things that had happened in the past. The victim told police he and Machen had been staying in the hotel since her arrests two weeks earlier.

Meanwhile, another officer arrived and the first officer went into the room to question Machen, but she was nowhere to be found. The officer noted in his report Machen could not have gotten past him, nor was the room connected to any other hotel room. He concluded the only way she could have gotten away was to have jumped from the balcony.

Machen was located a short time later in the area of 9th Street and placed under arrest. According to police reports, Machen bragged about police cars passing here while she hid in the bushes and that she wouldn’t have been caught if she didn’t flee her hiding place.

The only visible injury to Machen was her right toe, which appeared to be broken. Machen said at first the victim had caused the injury, but later conceded she broke it during the jump from the balcony. She was charged again with second-degree assault, which was her third assault arrest over the last month.