Mount Pleasant attack, robbery; Detroit woman sentenced to prison
Tia Sullivan
MOUNT PLEASANT, Wis. - A Detroit woman has been sentenced to eight years in prison, accused in a robbery and attack on a Walmart employee in Mount Pleasant in 2020.
Tia Sullivan, 32, pleaded guilty on May 27 to robbery and first-degree reckless injury. Four other charges were dismissed as part of a plea deal.
According to the Mount Pleasant Police Department, officers were dispatched to a Walmart near Washington Avenue and Green Bay Road for a report that a customer had attacked an employee on Oct. 21, 2020.
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A criminal complaint states that Sullivan used a food stamp card to pay for another person's groceries while in line to check out. She then demanded that the customer reimburse her with money, but the customer refused.
When Sullivan demanded that employees refund the purchase, the complaint states, they refused because she had voluntarily paid for the groceries. Sullivan continued to argue with employees, and the customer was escorted to their car.
The complaint states that, as the argument ensued, Sullivan pulled a knife from her pocket and lunged at an employee, making several stabbing and slashing movements. The victim of the attack was taken to the hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Another employee held Sullivan back, and she eventually left the scene.
Shortly thereafter, police said, a robbery was reported at a nearby ATM. The robbery victim said the suspect threatened to shoot them and that there was a physical struggle. That suspect was later identified as Sullivan, who did rob the victim of $20.
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Once arrested, Sullivan claimed she was never at Walmart, according to the complaint. However, officers found in her pocket a receipt believed to be for the purchase in question that sparked the incident. She also maintained that her name was "Asian Davis," and officers found a food stamp card on her person with the name Tia Sullivan.
Court documents show Sullivan was convicted in 2017 of misdemeanor aggravated assault in Michigan.