A woman who allegedly fought with cops after her arrest in connection with a string of incidents in various stages of undress last year has received a pair of suspended sentences in Flathead County District Court.  

Ashley Lynn Dryden, 33, faced charges of felony assault on a peace officer and misdemeanor driving under the influence and assault with bodily fluids following her run-in with the Flathead County Sheriff's Office on April 17, 2023. Deputies began searching for her after receiving reports of a woman walking around Martin City nude from the waist down and yelling obscenities. 

While arriving deputies were unable to locate the partially nude woman in Martin City, they received subsequent reports of a theft at a gas station near the intersection of U.S. 2 and Montana 40. The suspected shoplifter was described as a shoeless or barefoot woman, court documents said. One witness described her as pushing a red Ford Escape.  

Deputies identified Dryden as the woman after arriving at the intersection, according to court documents. Smelling the odor of an alcoholic beverage on her and spotting an empty vodka bottle on the passenger seat of the Escape as well as two suspected marijuana pipes, they sought to put her through a field sobriety test, court documents said.  

When she allegedly refused, deputies arrested her and planned on getting her blood drawn at a Kalispell medical facility.  

Dryden became violent during the trip to Kalispell, kicking the cage of the law enforcement vehicle she was riding in and slamming her head against it, according to court documents. When deputies stopped to reseat her, she allegedly tried to kick them.  

Once in Kalispell, Dryden began yelling and cursing at deputies, at one point getting onto the roof of a law enforcement vehicle, court documents said. A deputy suffered injuries to his knee, elbow and lower back in the ensuing scuffle.  

She later allegedly spat on a detention center officer after deputies took her to the county jail.  

Although initially maintaining her innocence, Dryden took a plea deal in February 2024 that saw prosecutors agree to drop the assault with bodily fluid misdemeanor.  

She pleaded guilty to assault on a peace officer and driving under the influence before Judge Dan Wilson on Feb. 22.  

At her April 11 sentencing, Wilson handed down a four-year suspended sentence for the felony and a six-month sentence to county jail with all, but 7 days suspended on the misdemeanor. Dryden was given credit for 16 days of time served and ordered to undergo a chemical dependency evaluation. 

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or [email protected].