Amber Martin, 21, of Wasilla, admitted in her plea that she or an accomplice used a weapon in the holdup of seven children, ages 10 and 11 at the time. An eighth child was nearby, according to Alaska State Troopers.
Superior Court Judge Beverly Cutler told Martin, a first-time offender, that she faces a sentence of 7 to 11 years in prison when she's sentenced Aug. 26 along with her cohort, Kendra Butts, 19, of Palmer. Butts pleaded guilty to the same robbery count earlier this month.
In return for her plea Thursday, all the other state charges against Martin were dropped. Martin agreed she would not have her attorney argue for a sentence of less than seven years.
She and Butts were initially charged with seven counts of robbery, one of attempted robbery and eight counts of assault in the Oct. 31, 2007, robbery on Talkeetna's Main Street.
The children told troopers a pickup stopped and two women in ski masks got out, threatened them with a handgun, fired a round in the air and demanded their bags of candy. The bandits took off with six bags of treats and a $500 iPhone, troopers said.
Later that evening, troopers apprehended two men, Butts' and Martin's boyfriends, at a diner in town after some of the same children spotted the pickup parked outside. The two, Aaron Tolen of Wasilla and Michael S. Wilson of Palmer, both 25, were arrested on suspicion of weapons misconduct and hindering prosecution, to which they have pleaded not guilty.
Tolen, Wilson and Butts face separate federal charges of illegal weapons possession and obstruction of justice.
Wilson and Tolen are set for trials June 10 in Palmer on state charges, including burglary, theft of firearms, tampering with evidence and criminal mischief.
All four remain jailed.
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