A woman’s alleged erratic behavior in Cedar Hill this summer forced a soft lockdown at Northwest High School and caused a man to fear for his life. Taylor Kay Kotva, 32, of Cedar Hill has been accused of pointing a gun at lights while on the high school’s campus in June and pointing a BB gun at a man driving on Industrial Drive in July, court documents said.
The Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office on Wednesday, Oct. 1, charged Kotva with second-degree making a terrorist threat for the incident at Northwest High and first-degree harassment for the incident on Industrial Drive, according to court records.
Both charges are class E felonies and carry penalties of up to four years in prison.
Kotva was arrested on Sept. 20 for charges filed in June for alleged possession of methamphetamine. A deputy found the illegal substance while arresting her on an active warrant in September 2024, court documents said.
As of today, Oct. 2, Kotva was still being held on a $5,000 bond for the drug charge at the Jefferson County Jail in Hillsboro, court records show.
The Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has requested Kotva’s bond be set at $10,000 for the Northwest High incident, and bond conditions include prohibiting her from having contact with Northwest High employees and students and coming within 1,000 feet of the school. She also would not be allowed contact with any children or going to places where children congregate, such as parks and playgrounds, according to court documents.
According to a probable-cause statement filed by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Kotva was seen on June 5 walking from a wooded area near the MotoMart gas station, 8489 Local Hillsboro Road, in Cedar Hill with a gun that had a black frame and tan slide. She allegedly waved the gun at vehicles traveling on nearby Hwy. 30 before putting it in her waistband and walking south toward Northwest High.
School officials were notified about Kotva’s actions, and the high school was placed on a soft lockdown, which consisted of bringing all children and staff inside the building and locking the doors, the report said.
Kotva was allegedly seen in surveillance video pointing a gun at lights around one of the parking lots, according to the report.
Just more than a month later, Kotva on July 10 stepped in front of a vehicle on Industrial Drive, which is south of the MotoMart gas station and Northwest High. The man driving the vehicle told Sheriff’s Office deputies Kotva pointed a black BB gun at him, the case’s probable-cause statement said.
The man told deputies he was able to turn around and drive away from Kotva, the report said.
In September 2024, a deputy arrested Kotva after responding to a call about a suspicious person. When the deputy arrived on the scene, he arrested Kotva on an active warrant, the probable-cause statement filed on April 8 said.
Kotva attempted to remove her jacket while being arrested, and after being told she could continue to wear the jacket, she allegedly said she could not because there was meth in it. The deputy found a substance in the jacket, the report said.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol analyzed the substance between Feb. 25 and March 5, and the test confirmed the substance was meth, according to the report.