By JON BAKER

LINCOLN  ---  What was supposed to be a simple bus ride from Woonsocket to Providence turned out to be anything but on Monday evening.

Several passengers on that RIPTA bus ended up at the south entrance to Twin River, despite the fact for most it wasn’t their preferred destination.
When all was said and done, police arrested Ashlee L. Burdick, 22, of 1105 Tower Hill Road, North Kingstown, on misdemeanor charges of simple assault and disorderly conduct.
According to police, the incident occurred shortly before 9 p.m., Monday, when Burdick and a female friend began arguing with a male subject. As the taunts escalated, police say, bus driver Scott Simmons, 32, asked the trio to exit the vehicle at the next stop, but Burdick became more belligerent and allegedly refused.
“The driver then pulled over at the (casino) entrance, and he told the two women to leave the bus, but -again, they wouldn’t move,” said Deputy Chief Brian Sullivan. “Soon after, the passengers began asking them to get off the bus, and that’s when the suspect started yelling at them. The next thing Simmons knew, Burdick and (a 39-year-old Woonsocket) woman were involved in a physical altercation.”
Patrolman Kevin Marcoux and Det. Kenneth Smith responded to the scene, and after speaking with passengers, Simmons and the victim, arrested Burdick on the two aforementioned charges. The victim stated Burdick allegedly had called her a “fat b----,” then hit and pushed her, causing her to hit her head.
“The suspect apparently was out of control,” Sullivan stated. “I don’t know if alcohol was involved, as there was no indication of that in the report, but something got (Burdick) upset. What I don’t understand is this: When a whole bus of passengers is telling you to get off mass transit because of your actions, you’d figure that person would listen.
“This woman didn’t, and that’s why she ended up in jail,” he added.
After being transported to headquarters and processed, Burdick was issued a summons to appear in Sixth District Court in Providence on March 28.
The good news: The victim was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries and later released.
Just a few hours before, Patrolman Brian Molis arrested Nhon Le, 20, of 60 Spring St., Lincoln, on a charge of marijuana possession.
Molis had stopped a vehicle’s operator near the intersection of Railroad and Winter streets. Upon speaking with hin and Le, a passenger in the vehicle, Molis allegedly noticed a strong odor of cannabis emanating from the car. Le later admitted to Molis that he had the drug on his person, police said.
When the officer allegedly found a small bag of a leafy, greenish-brown substance in a front pocket, he initiated the arrest. After processing at the station, Le was released with a summons to appear at Sixth District Court on March 28.