ELMIRA, NY (607NewsNow) – An Ithaca woman could spend 15 years behind bars for injuring a Chemung County investigator.

On March 14, Fatiuna Massaline was found guilty of assault on a police officer and second-degree assault for her role in a March 2024 retail theft in Big Flats. WENY-TV reports a jury of peers convicted Massaline for her actions behind the wheel of a car, which led to the critical injury of Investigator Michael Theetge. The trial lasted just four days.

Theetge, attempting to thwart the theft, chased Massaline’s alleged accomplice Dominick Haley through the shopping center parking lot on March 29, 2024. Both men ended up on the hood of Massaline’s car and were thrown from it after Massaline accelerated. During testimony, she claimed that she attempted to flee the scene after panicking due to a previous attempted kidnapping, and she was not involved in the crime. All investigators that day were in plain clothes and unmarked vehicles. Haley, also of Ithaca, recently pled guilty to similar crimes for his role.

Theetge suffered a skull fracture and brain bleed requiring months of hospitalization and physical therapy.

Massaline will be sentenced on May 19, 2025.