Tim Ryan tryan@wolfrivermedia.com
A trial got underway Wednesday for a Gillett woman accused of robbing a Shawano grocery store at knifepoint last year.
Brenda S. Webster, 57, allegedly entered the Guerrero Grocery, 520 S. Main St., shortly before 6 p.m. on June 27, 2014, wearing a black ski mask and threatened the store owner with a steak knife.
She could face a maximum 40 years in prison and $100,000 fine if found guilty of armed robbery. She is also charged with using force to intimidate a victim, and misdemeanor counts of battery and disorderly conduct.
The criminal complaint alleges Webster took a money bag from the store containing about $4,000.
Jurors Wednesday heard the store owner’s account of the incident through a Spanish-speaking interpreter, as well as testimony from witnesses who said they saw Webster fleeing the scene.
One witness testified she followed Webster for several blocks before losing sight of her. She said Webster had changed clothing somewhere along the way.
According to the criminal complaint, Webster was spotted dumping her clothes into a garbage bin.
Police later found dark-colored clothing, shoes, a pair of white socks and a blue glove in the garbage bin, according to the complaint.
Police did not locate the money or the steak knife.
In his opening statement, Webster’s attorney, Raj Kumar Singh, took issue with the fact that no DNA evidence was being presented to prove his client had been wearing the clothes that police found in the garbage.
During cross-examination of the state’s witnesses, Singh also sought to cast doubt on whether they were able to able to positively identify Webster as the woman they saw.
According to the complaint, Webster dropped the money bag on her way out of the store, and the store owner tried picking it up, but Webster allegedly pushed her over and fled with the bag.
Moments after police got the call about an armed robbery, another call came in reporting a suspicious person behind the 400 block of West Sawyer Street.
A witness told police she saw a woman come into her yard and that the woman took off her socks and crawled in and out of a garbage bin before fleeing north.
Webster was arrested moments later on East Randall Street, four blocks away from the crime scene.
The trial in Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court is expected to conclude Thursday.