Last year's harrowing incident of attempted armed kidnapping and robbery involving a St. Louis apartment property manager has come to a close, with the sentencing of the two perpetrators. In September, U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp sentenced 33-year-old Emma M. Cunningham to 112 months in prison and 49-year-old Jervonz L. Williams to 225 months, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Missouri.
According to the case details, Cunningham purchased a .38-caliber revolver months before the crime, lying on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Form 4473—claiming she was buying it for herself and denying being an unlawful user of substances. Actually, the gun was bought for her boyfriend, Williams, who was previously convicted and barred from possessing firearms. With the gun threatening others was done by Williams, including Cunningham’s neighbor.
The attempted kidnapping took place on August 5, 2024. During a scheduled final apartment walkthrough with Cunningham, her unsuspecting tenant and property manager became the target. Upon arrival, the victim found themselves locked in and threatened at gunpoint by Williams when an attempt was made to call 911. The couple demanded cash and the phone password to access the victim's financial accounts and went as far as securing her to a chair with duct tape. Miraculously, the victim managed to escape even though in the struggle to prevent her exit, Cunningham and Williams violently tore at her, ripping off her shirt and pulling out her hair. The police arrested the assailants two days later, recovering the revolver from Williams and a box of ammunition from Cunningham.
Bernard “Butch” Hansen, the ATF Special Agent in Charge of the Kansas City Field Division, emphasized the gravity of such crimes, stating, “A straw purchase is not a harmless favor. It’s a federal crime that can arm dangerous felons and fuel violent acts like the attempted kidnapping and robbery we saw here.” Both Cunningham and Williams faced justice, pleading guilty to multiple charges, including attempted kidnapping and robbery, as well as their respective firearm offenses, the U.S. Attorney's Office reported.
