Woman on trial for disturbing Shasta supervisors meeting might testify

Michele Chandler, Redding Record Searchlight

Fri, December 12, 2025 at 7:59 PM UTC

3 min read

A Redding woman who was arrested after sitting on the floor in front of the Shasta County Board of Supervisors as they held a meeting last year may testify when her trial resumes on Tuesday, Dec. 16.Jenny O'Connell-Nowain was charged with disturbance of a public meeting and resisting/obstructing an officer after the incident during the board's meeting on Nov. 7, 2024.

O'Connell-Nowain pleaded not guilty to the charges.

County Counsel Joseph Larmour, who was present during the 2024 supervisors' meeting, gave testimony on Thursday, Dec. 11 about what led up to the woman's arrest.

"When the crowd is raucous, the room is cleared," he said. "Once the chair decides a person (is) creating a disruption, we wait for their removal."

Charles Edwards, a detective with the Shasta County Sheriff's Office, also took the stand Thursday to answer questions about what happened after he was called to the board chambers during the meeting.

More: Shasta kicked people out of chamber. Here's what the law says if you're at public meetings

Edwards said O'Connell-Nowain was sitting on the floor in front of the supervisors. Over the course of several minutes, he testified he gave O'Connell-Nowain "several orders to stand up and she did not do that."

"I didn't go there with the intent to arrest her," Edwards said.

Benjamin Nowain and Jenny Nowain protest the actions of Shasta County Supervisor Patrick Jones at the Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, meeting.

After O'Connell-Nowain and her husband, Benjamin Nowain, sat down on the floor in front of the supervisors during the meeting, Board Chair and District 1 Supervisor Kevin Crye had called a five-minute recess.

However, Larmour testified on Thursday that he advised Crye that he needed to give the Nowains a warning to get up and move before he could then order them removed and recess the meeting.

Video played in court showed that Crye made the warning and, after a pause, he announced the recess.

Benjamin Nowain eventually left the meeting after the proceedings were suspended but his wife stayed, according to law enforcement's report.

Sheriff's deputies later arrested and took O'Connell-Nowain to their SUV to be booked at the Shasta County Jail on suspicion of disturbing a public meeting.

Superior Court Judge Thomas L. Bender said on Thursday afternoon that the trial was progressing more quickly than expected.

Before dismissing the jury until next week, Bender ordered them not to talk about the case to anyone.

After the jurors left the courtroom for the day, the judge also told members of the audience he'd "appreciate" if they didn't discuss the case outside the courtroom where members of the jury might overhear.

"I do not want a mistrial," Bender told spectators, after saying the defendant has the "right to a fair and impartial trial."

The incident from last fall was the second time O'Connell-Nowain was removed from a board meeting. On July 23, 2024, sheriff's deputies carried her out of the chambers. At that time, the meeting was shut down due to disruptions brought on by the board not having the needed votes to appoint Benjamin Nowain to the Shasta County Elections Commission. O'Connell-Nowain sat on the floor and declined to leave until she received an apology from former Supervisor Patrick Jones over comments he made about her husband's intentions to be on the commission.

Michele Chandler covers dining, food, public safety and whatever else comes up for the Redding Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. Accepts story tips at 530-338-7753 and at mrchandler@gannett.com. Please support our entire newsroom's commitment to public service journalism by subscribing today.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Woman on trial for disturbing Shasta supervisors meeting could testify

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