A Massachusetts beekeeper was sentenced to six months in jail after deliberately releasing hundreds of honeybees on sheriff's deputies executing an eviction at her elderly friend's home, with several officers stung on the head and face.
Rebecca Woods, 59, drove a trailer loaded with hives to the Longmeadow property and began opening the boxes as deputies arrived to serve papers. The deputies were overwhelmed by swarming bees. One officer required hospital treatment, and approximately 1,000 of Woods's own bees died during the chaos, crushed when hives toppled as she resisted arrest or perished after stinging.
Video of the incident captured deputies shouting and frantically waving their arms as bees attacked. One officer is heard saying "She's opening the bees." Woods, dressed in her beekeeper's suit, was thrown to the ground and arrested as a massive swarm engulfed the yard.
Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi called it unprecedented for his department. "This was unlike anything our team has ever experienced," he said of the confrontation.
A jury in Springfield District Court acquitted Woods of seven felonies but convicted her of four misdemeanor counts of assault and battery and two counts of reckless assault. During questioning, she admitted her goal was to prevent the eviction, though her defense argued her harsh response came after deputies roughed her up during arrest. When told some officers were allergic to bees, Woods reportedly replied: "Oh, you're allergic? Good!"
Her attorney, Mary Saldarelli, attributed that comment to the physical altercation and said Woods had acted out of genuine compassion. The friend, a man in his 80s undergoing cancer treatment, was struggling with what his home's lender represented as predatory financing terms. Woods herself had experienced evictions and wanted to protect him from losing his residence to unfair lending practices, Saldarelli explained. The elderly man had gone to a library to research legal options while Woods drove the bees to his property as a last resort.
The effort failed. The eviction proceeded, and the homeowner lost his house. Woods had been detained without bail since her arrest at a motel in Tennessee and through an extended extradition process back to Massachusetts. She plans to serve approximately two more weeks before release and has filed an appeal, refusing to accept the convictions.
Cocchi acknowledged the department's commitment to helping residents navigate difficult circumstances, but made clear that even unconventional tactics cannot override court-ordered evictions. "We don't just show up to enforce an order," he said. "We try to help people through difficult situations. That commitment doesn't change, even in the face of something like this."
Author James Rodriguez: "You have to admire the commitment, even if deploying a bee army to stop an eviction is about as effective as fighting a foreclosure with a kazoo."
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