TEQUESTA, Fla. — A candidate for Tequesta Village Council faces serious charges after police said she stabbed a relative at her home and then assaulted officers who arrived at the scene.
The incident took place Thursday morning at the home of Julie Mitchell, 54, along Golfview Drive in Tequesta.
Tequesta police told WPTV that Mitchell has been ordered to stay away from her house as the candidate for Village Council faces criminal charges.
Mitchell was booked into the main Palm Beach County jail Thursday afternoon on four counts of aggravated battery and two counts of assaulting a law enforcement officer with violence.
Police said when they arrived at the candidate's home, officers encountered a "dynamic situation."
Mitchell was detained after they said she stabbed two victims at the home.
The victims were taken to a local hospital for treatment of injuries described as not life-threatening. Police said a knife involved in the attack was recovered from the scene. The motive behind the stabbing is being investigated.
As neighbors watched the commotion along Golfview Drive, with squad cars surrounding the Mitchell home, police reassured them that they were safe.
"There is no danger to the public," Assistant Police Chief Jim McGrew with the Tequesta Police Department said. "This is an isolated incident, so the public has nothing to fear right now."
Mitchell had been running for a seat on the Tequesta Village Council. Her webpage cited public safety as a key issue.
However, Thursday afternoon, that webpage was taken down, but WPTV hasn't heard if she is abandoning her run for office. Tequesta Vice Mayor Laurie Brandon said that is not important at this time.
"It's a very sad day in Tequesta," Brandon said. "And we really hope the public really respects the privacy of the family and that they heal, and that the community heals together with them."
Mitchell's opponent for the council seat, Jayson French, echoed the sentiment in an email, saying the following:
"My family and I will be praying for the Mitchell family during this very difficult time," French said. "I know our special Tequesta community will come together for any support they may need."
Neighbors and friends of the Mitchell family were surprised and stunned by the incident.
WPTV asked Tequesta police to check their records and see if they had been called to the Mitchell home in the past few years, and they said they've had no calls at all.
Before Mitchell's campaign website was taken down, it said that the political candidate was married with two children and moved to 86 Golfview Drive from Jupiter in 2021.
The website said Mitchell has been a neighborhood coordinator for the town of Jupiter for 20 years.