A Columbia woman was ordered to complete a 120-day shock- detention sentence for pleading guilty to an amended charge in a theft case from July 2014.
During a hearing before Cole County Judge Dan Green, Victoria Thompson, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of felony receiving stolen property. Prosecutors amended the charge from felony stealing. They also dismissed felony counts of stealing, first-degree endangering the welfare of a child and tampering with physical evidence along with a misdemeanor charge of stealing. Thompson was given credit for time she had already served.
Thompson was one of three women from Columbia that authorities said was involved in stealing items from stores in Jefferson City, then trying to get rid of them by throwing them out of a moving car while being chased by authorities.
Shanell Rena Fox-Brown, 32, earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of felony stealing and one count each of first-degree child endangerment, resisting arrest and misdemeanor stealing. She was placed on five years supervised probation
Online court records show no charges on file in connection with the third woman who was taken into custody after the incident.
The women went to Dillard's at Capital Mall and stole more than $200 worth of merchandise before heading to Dick's Sporting Goods on Stoneridge Parkway and taking nearly $700 in items by concealing them in their purses, according to court records.
At Kohl's on Stoneridge Parkway, the women selected items and carried them into fitting rooms. They each took turns concealing the merchandise, which was valued at more than $500.
When confronted by store security, the women fled the store.
They then got into a vehicle driven by Fox-Brown and sped off.
Fox-Brown led officers on a chase that went from Missouri Boulevard onto U.S. 54 and into Callaway County before getting into an accident. She and the others were then taken into custody.
When questioned by officers, Fox-Brown admitted there was an infant in the vehicle when she and her accomplices fled from authorities.
At the time, she said she came to Jefferson City to steal items because she was homeless and needed money.
The infant in the vehicle was Thompson's then 2-month old son.
Authorities said Thompson unbuckled the child's car seat during the pursuit in order to gain access to the trunk where the stolen items were located.
Thompson and the third woman then threw the items out of the vehicle.
Thompson said she didn't steal anything, nor did she see the others steal items. She said she left Kohl's because her child was crying and was in the vehicle when Fox-Brown and the third woman ran from the store. She also said she told Fox-Brown to stop when police began to chase them and that she didn't unsecure her son from his car seat until after the accident.