Armed couple taped property manager to chair during walkthrough in MO, feds say
Two people were sentenced to prison in Missouri after officials say they taped a property manager to a chair and held her at gunpoint
Emma M. Cunningham, 33, was sentenced to nine years and four months in prison and Jervonz L. Williams, 49, to 18 years and nine months in prison, according to a Sept. 30 news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri.
On Feb. 20, 2024, Cunningham bought a gun for Williams, who is a convicted felon and prohibited from carrying a weapon, prosecutors said. After getting the gun, Williams used it to threaten people and rob a drug dealer of $17, a gun and cocaine, officials said.
Then, on Aug. 5, 2024, Cunningham met with a property manager to do a final apartment walkthrough in St. Louis. When the manager came in, Cunningham locked the apartment door and Williams threatened to kill her when she tried to call 911, officials said.
Williams demanded cash and the manager’s phone password so the couple could access her financial information, prosecutors said. The couple then taped her to a chair, according to officials.
The manager was able to break free from the duct tape, but as she was escaping, the couple ripped her shirt and tore out clumps of hair trying to stop her, prosecutors said.
Two days later the couple was arrested. Officials said Williams had the gun and Cunningham had a box of ammunition at the time.
“Emma accepts responsibility and is remorseful for her actions. She is grateful to be out of the abusive relationship with her co-defendant that alienated her from her family and friends, and led to her involvement in this crime,” Cunningham’s attorney told McClatchy News in an email.
Williams’ attorney declined a request to comment Oct. 2.
“This case is a stark reminder of the devastation that follows when someone illegally buys a gun for another person,” Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Bernard Hansen, of the Kansas City Field Division, said in the release. “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.”
This story was originally published October 2, 2025 at 12:47 PM with the headline "Armed couple taped property manager to chair during walkthrough in MO, feds say."
