Former taekwondo world champion charged with assaulting public servant, police say

A two-time world taekwondo champion was arrested Thursday on charges of assaulting a community health paramedic at a halfway house in Del Valle.

Mandy Meloon, 36, was charged with assault on a public servant, a third-degree felony.

According to her arrest affidavit, Meloon was having a mental health episode at the Austin Transitional Center and seeing and hearing things that weren’t there. A paramedic attempted to stop a fight between Meloon and another resident, the affidavit said. Meloon then “put his right thumb into a thumblock, punched him in the right side of the abdomen, then attempted to knee him in the groin,” the affidavit said.

Meloon was restrained and Austin police took her into custody.

>> Read more trending news

According to her arrest affidavit, she was a member of the U.S. national team, a two-time world medalist and five-time U.S. champion in taekwondo, “so her skills in strikes and control techniques are more advanced than most people and capable of causing severe damage.”

Meloon was sentenced in 2016 to two years in prison after pleaded guilty to assaulting a sheriff's deputy, according to reports by San Angelo Live. She was kicked off the U.S. Olympic team in 2007 for making threats against a fellow teammate online, the report said.

Meloon has also been charged with violating parole. She is being held at the Travis County Jail on $10,000 bail.

INLINE

Cox Media Group