Young Cambridge woman drove getaway car in armed robbery

KITCHENER — A young Cambridge meth addict got two years less a day in jail on Monday for a 10-day crime spree in March that ended with her driving the getaway car in an armed robbery.

Ashley Williams, 21, pleaded guilty to almost a dozen charges, mostly in Kitchener, including driving while disqualified, stealing gas, shoplifting and possession of stolen cars, credit cards and identity documents.

That was all fairly minor compared to her final crime.

On March 25 at 8:30 a.m., Williams drove a man in a stolen car to the Copetown General Store in Hamilton. She watched him mask himself. She was in the car when he pulled an imitation firearm on the store clerk and fled with $20. He got back in the car and Williams drove off.

She drove the same man to a robbery earlier that day but maintained she did not know of his plan ahead of time. In that robbery, the man pulled the same imitation gun on a clerk at Glen’s Variety in Cambridge and got away with $110.

The clerk in the Hamilton robbery still lives in fear.

“It was a brief moment for the accused to rob me, but it’s still haunting me and I’m not sure when this will end,” he wrote in a victim impact statement.

Many imitation firearms “now look exactly like real firearms,” Crown prosecutor Jane Young said. “When you’re facing an accused who is pointing a gun at you ... it looks pretty real.”

The robber has resolved his charges. His sentence was not spelled out in court.

Williams has been in jail since her arrest on March 27. Her troubles began after her mother died of a heart attack in 2014.

“Her mother passed away quite literally in my client’s arms, so a very traumatic experience for a young teenage girl to have to go through,” defence lawyer Erik Van Drunen said.

“Her mother was of great stability and support to her. The loss of her mother left a very large hole in my client’s life and some poor decision-making began to take over.”

Her criminal record began in 2016 — mainly minor offences to feed her meth habit. She quit drugs last October after her second child was born.

“The birth of the child kept Ms. Williams on track for a number of months, but she ultimately relapsed,” Van Drunen said.

Williams offered a soft-spoken apology in court. She hopes to stay off drugs and turn her life around.

Justice Melanie Sopinka said store clerks are vulnerable and robbing one is “extremely aggravating.”

The judge accepted a joint position for two years less a day. With extra credit for presentence custody, Williams has another 18 months to serve.

She faces a three-year driving ban and 10-year weapons ban.