By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
An Atmore woman was arrested January 31 on several charges related to a tantrum she threw when a local restaurant refused to serve her more alcohol. Now she has been indicted on a charge of trafficking in Kratom.
Nadia Coker, 42, of a Trammel Street address, was already out on bond for third-degree assault when Atmore police arrested her on six other charges that resulted from the restaurant incident. She was still in jail, under a $50,000 bond on those charges when the indictment was handed up.
Atmore police reports show that officers were sent to Acapulco Mexican Restaurant on East Church Street, where the eatery’s management reported that a customer was intoxicated and acting in a disorderly manner.
A restaurant employee told police that Coker had “exceeded her alcohol limit” and was refused any more mixed drinks. Coker reportedly became angry and pushed a server, then went behind the counter and poured her own drink before leaving.
Coker was jailed on two counts of third-degree assault, as well as one count each of third-degree robbery, first-degree criminal trespassing, obstructing government operations and third-degree criminal mischief.
She was already free on bond from a third-degree assault charge when the restaurant incident occurred.
APD Chief Chuck Brooks said this week that one of the assault charges stemmed from pushing the restaurant employee and the other resulted from Coker grabbing the same employee’s shirt as she headed behind the bar to serve herself.
Brooks said the robbery charge was added because the Atmore woman “used force to take the drink,” which she left without paying for.
Her bond on the restaurant charges was revoked, and a bond of $150,000 was set on the newest charges.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Kratom — which is legal in several states and is readily available on the Internet — is made from the leaves of a tropical tree. It reportedly interacts with opioid receptors in the brain and causes effects similar to opium-based compounds or stimulants and is sometimes sold as a green powder in packets labeled “not for human consumption” or as an extract or gum.
When kratom is taken in small amounts, users report increased energy, sociability, and alertness instead of sedation. However, kratom can also cause uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous side effects.
Most people take kratom as a pill, capsule or extract. Some people chew kratom leaves or brew dried or powdered leaves into a tea, and sometimes the leaves are smoked or eaten in food.