Culinary confrontation ends with basil attack

A woman accused of throwing a basil plant at her husband after a meat-related argument was arrested on a misdemeanor charge, according to a recently released police report. Accused herb hurler Andrea Antoine-Pierre, 52, was jailed on a battery (domestic) charge following an apparent culinary confrontation with her spouse at their home in Port St. Lucie. Antoine-Pierre's 60-year-old husband told Port St. Lucie police he was in the kitchen preparing food when his wife got home.

"They then began to argue about what type of meat was supposed to be cooked," the report states. The report didn't specify whether the meat was beef, poultry, pork, fish or some sort of crustacean. As the husband walked away during the dispute, Antoine-Pierre stands accused of throwing a potted basil plant at her husband's back, hitting his left shoulder. Basil, an aromatic herb often associated with Italian and Thai cuisine, is not often used as a weapon.

Antoine-Pierre's husband got past his wife. While outside, Antoine-Pierre reportedly got rocks from the garden and tossed them at her husband, but the rocks didn't hit him. Antoine-Pierre told police she argued with her husband over dinner. She said he called her mother a liar. "Upon hearing this Ms. Pierre admitted to picking up the plant and throwing it on the ground not on her husband."

Asked to explain how dirt got on her husband's back, Antoine-Pierre said "it must have bounced off the ground." Antoine-Pierre also said she lobbed rocks in her husband's "general direction" but didn't hit him. Antoine-Pierre's 26-year-old stepson said Antoine-Pierre threw a plant in his father's direction but couldn't determine whether it hit him. As for the potted basil plant, police took a photo of it in the bin.