Missouri woman sentenced to prison for role in downtown Lawrence jeans heist
Judge cites defendant's small children in granting shorter stay
photo by: Mike Yoder
One of four women who tried to steal thousands of dollars worth of blue jeans from a downtown Lawrence shop will do prison time for the crime.
However — in part because the woman is the mother of three small children, including an infant — a judge granted her special request for a shorter sentence of 21 months, instead of the 49 she would have received under Kansas sentencing guidelines for her conviction and criminal history.
Shaikeece N. Whisonant, 25, of Grandview, Mo., was convicted by a plea of one count of robbery, a felony. Initially, she’d been charged with aggravated robbery.
On Nov. 3, 2016, Whisonant was one of four women who teamed up to steal thousands of dollars worth of jeans from The Buckle, which is now closed, at 805 Massachusetts St.
They tried to get away with 26 pairs of men’s Rock Revival jeans valued at more than $4,200, the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office previously has said. They dropped 22 pairs and ultimately made off with four pairs valued at a total of $805.
In the process, one robber maced a female store employee who tried to stop them. Whisonant, prosecutor Amy McGowan said, was caught on video repeatedly punching an employee in the head.
“This was not a mere shoplifting, it was a snatch and grab,” McGowan said.
Whisonant’s appointed attorney, Branden Smith, had cast the crime differently in his written request for a lesser sentence as “a shoplifting incident that went bad.”
Whisonant is currently serving a prison sentence for a Johnson County theft conviction. Smith said she has 18 total prior convictions, mostly misdemeanor theft and traffic cases, plus two nonperson felonies — unlike the robbery case involving violence.
Whisonant said she was remorseful and had learned from the consequences, including to stay away from people who did her no good. She said one co-defendant was a neighbor of hers, but she didn’t know the others.
Whisonant said relatives were caring for her children, all 5 or younger, while she was in prison.
“It’s hard on me,” she said. “I’m taking my time seriously. I’m willing to do my time and just move on forward with my life in a positive way.”
In agreeing to a shorter sentence, Judge Peggy Kittel cited Whisonant’s three small children and a co-defendant’s sentence of two years in prison. Kittel said Whisonant’s prison time will be followed by two years of supervision.
Tyra Watts, the woman who maced the Buckle employee, pleaded no contest to robbery and was sentenced in March to two years in prison, according to Cheryl Wright Kunard, assistant to the DA.
Unikua Elam also entered a plea, according to court records. Her sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 7, Wright Kunard said.
A jury convicted Danneisha Nesbitt of aggravated robbery. Wright Kunard said she was supposed to be sentenced in July but failed to appear. No new sentencing date has been set.
Editor’s note: This story has been edited to correct the name of the judge.
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