CHICORA — A Center Township woman chose to defend herself for charges including impersonating a law-enforcement officer at a preliminary hearing Tuesday.

Free after being released on her own recognizance, Michelle F. Carrier, 45, appeared before District Judge Lewis Stoughton without an attorney.

She also is charged with a misdemeanor count of resisting arrest stemming from a July 20 incident at her home. Stoughton moved forward the charges to Butler County Common Pleas Court.

“She called in a noise complaint,” said Trooper Philip Treadway. “We received a call for assistance at that residence.”

Treadway said Carrier told operators she felt people were outside her house making noises, and while driving to the call, he ran a check on the caller and learned she had an active warrant out of Butler County.

Treadway said when he arrived, he asked Carrier to exit her home to speak with him, but she instead went back inside her home.

During her testimony, Carrier said she had been showering at the time, and she returned inside to finish.

“I was terrified, and really questioning why I was going back to jail,” Carrier said. “I’ve been in jail twice, and I’m being followed and stalked. I’m just a little stressed right now.”

Treadway said when Carrier refused to exit, troopers entered her home, feeling that her retreat inside was a safety issue. He said troopers found her bathing in her tub, and she resisted as they arrested her from there.

According to Treadway, as they were escorting her from the home, Carrier yelled “I’m a state trooper. I’m a state police officer,” and she pointed toward an application for a local police department.

In her testimony, Carrier refuted those statements, claiming she only told them she was pursuing a career as a criminal investigator.

“I did not say I was a state trooper,” she said.

Carrier said she was afraid of the situation and did not believe police followed protocols, which led to her resisting.

“I wasn’t read my Miranda Rights, and I thought it was unlawful entry onto my property,” Carrier said.

As Tuesday’s case against Carrier moves forward toward an Oct. 4 preliminary hearing, it now joins two other criminal cases in county court.

According to documents in those cases, Carrier was pulled over by a state trooper in May 2020, and during that incident, she claimed she was a state police officer. Following the incident, Carrier was charged with misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest and impersonating an officer.

The other case was filed Jan. 4, and it alleged Carrier keyed a couple vehicles, causing more than $7,600 in damage. In that case, she was charged with felony criminal mischief.