Amber M. Williams, 23, of Fenton, a repeat offender, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for felony robbery and possession of a controlled substance, court papers show.
On May 12, 2015, Williams and Jessica Schrum stole backpacks and other merchandise worth more than $600 from the Walmart store in High Ridge, but they set off an alarm while trying to leaving the store, and store personnel stopped them and asked for a receipt, the probable-cause statement said.
That’s when Williams, formerly of Arnold, got out a knife and threatened one of the employees with it, and then she and Schrum fled the store and got into a car that drove away, the report said.
A short time later, a Jefferson County deputy spotted the vehicle they fled in at Hwy. 30 and Sugar Creek Road in Fenton and stopped it, according to the report.
Three women were inside, including Williams and Schrum. The third woman, who was driving, said she wasn’t aware that Williams and Schrum had stolen merchandise from the store, the report said.
The deputy found the backpacks and stolen items in the vehicle, as well as a large knife that Williams had used to threaten the employee and a T-shirt that Williams had been wearing during the theft but took off in the get-away vehicle, according to the report.
Both the Walmart employees identified Williams as the one who brandished the knife and Schrum as the accomplice in the shoplifting incident, the report said.
Also on May 12, Williams was found with methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, court records indicate.
Neither Williams nor Schrum would make a statement when deputies interviewed them after the arrest, according to the report.
Later, however, Williams pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery, possession of a controlled substance, both felonies, and unlawful use of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor, and on April 21, Jefferson County Div. 3 Circuit Judge Nathan B. Stewart sentenced her to two nine-year prison terms, one for each of the felonies, and 120-days in jail for the misdemeanor. All the terms are to be served concurrently, or at the same time. In addition, Williams may be released early if she successfully completes a 24-month treatment program, court papers indicate.
Jefferson County assistant prosecuting attorney Steven W. Jerrell handled the case.
Schrum, who was born in 1983 and lives in Fenton, pleaded guilty to felony theft and misdemeanor receiving stolen property in connection with the case and in November 2015, was placed on five years’ probation, court records show.
Williams previously pleaded guilty to three counts of felony possession of a controlled substance stemming from a March 2010 incident in St. Louis County and in April 2012, was placed on five years’ probation, but after violating the probation, she was sentenced in December 2013 to one year in jail, according to court documents.