A Williston woman pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a charge of aggravated assault with a weapon — allegedly stabbing a Walmart employee several times in the back of the head and neck with a spiked tool.
Anny Marie Jenkins, 37, of Ferrisburgh was accused of stabbing a 41-year-old woman, an employee at the Williston Walmart, multiple times. Police said the woman had been texting Jenkins’ ex-boyfriend, and Jenkins suspected her of having a relationship with him, police said.
On Wednesday, Judge Megan Shafritz ordered that Jenkins be held for lack of $5,000 bail on the charge, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years behind bars and $10,000 in fines.
The injured woman was taken by ambulance to the UVM Medical Center for treatment. She told police that, during the attack, her pain was a 6 out of 10, but later, rose to 8. She received a CAT scan to check for skull damage because of her high level of pain.
According to a police affidavit, Jenkins arrived at Walmart on Tuesday a little after noon, walked around the store for a few minutes, then headed to the apparel section, where the employee was setting up a merchandise fixture.
Security camera footage shows Jenkins approaching the woman from behind and stabbing her several times in the back of the head and neck with a weapon later identified as a tire plug applicator, according to the affidavit. The tool is intended to be gripped with a fist, with a metal spike protruding between the ring and middle fingers, about 4 inches long.
According to the affidavit, it appears Jenkins used the tool in a punching motion to stab the woman from behind, then dragged the weapon across her throat in a threatening motion, before fleeing the store.
Police were told that Jenkins drove away in a green Toyota Highlander, an SUV that her ex-boyfriend, Randy Smith, had loaned to her. The two were still sharing an apartment.
When police arrived at the store, they asked the injured woman if she knew anyone with that make and model of vehicle. She said she knew that Smith drove a green Highlander, and noted he had loaned the car to his ex-girlfriend, Jenkins.
Police used that information to locate Jenkins at her home.
Another Walmart employee told police he recognized Jenkins when she came to the store Tuesday, because she had been in the day before for three hours without buying anything, and he had been watching her closely to see if she was going to steal anything.
In an interview with police, Jenkins originally denied she had been at the Walmart store and said she had loaned the car to her friend “Jess,” along with several other items seen in security camera footage of the incident, including Jenkins’ jacket and shoes.
The affidavit reports police told Jenkins that her story “didn’t make any sense,” and Jenkins agreed with them.
Previously, Jenkins had previously sent a number of Facebook messages to the woman who was stabbed, accusing her of a relationship with Smith, which the woman denied, according to the affidavit.
Jenkins’ phone also revealed that she had looked up store hours and directions to Walmart before the incident. She had also texted a friend that she suspected Smith was having a relationship with the Walmart employee, and she was going to do something, but she didn’t want to say what via text, “if you know what I mean,” she wrote.
Ultimately, the affidavit says, Jenkins told police she did go to Walmart, but entered the store in a “dreamlike state” and could not remember what happened.
“I didn’t mean to,” “I wasn’t thinking,” and “I didn’t realize what had happened until I got back into the car,” Jenkins told police, according to the affidavit.
Later, while Jenkins was in a police holding cell, she asked to speak with an officer, telling him “I didn’t mean to harm her,” and “I don’t think I was going to kill her.” She said she didn’t realize she was holding a weapon, according to the affidavit, and thought that she was only punching the woman.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Woman pleads not guilty to stabbing Walmart employee multiple times from behind.