Grandmother who left boy in Kohl’s has past convictions

A Wichita grandmother who police say left her 5-year-old grandson at Kohl’s after she was stopped for trying to steal clothes has a history of theft convictions and drug use, according to court records.

Kathleen A. Williams, 41, was on probation for felony theft in two cases from 2013 when she allegedly was caught leaving the department store, in the 6900 block of West Kellogg, Tuesday afternoon with about $200 worth of clothing, according to information from Wichita police and Sedgwick County District Court documents. After returning the stolen goods, she bolted from the store without her grandson. She didn’t come back.

The boy was placed in foster care Friday after no one from his family showed up to claim him during a temporary custody hearing.

Court records show Williams had a history of theft convictions and substance abuse problems. Wichita municipal court records indicate she pleaded no contest in March 2013 to two counts of misdemeanor theft – one charged for shoplifting from a south Wichita K-Mart store on Jan. 20, 2013, and the second for stealing from a west-side K-Mart two weeks later, according to Wichita police reports.

Later that year Williams was arrested and again charged with theft – this time felonies – for stealing a women’s tube top and jeans, a purse, a wallet and men’s underwear from the Von Maur and JC Penney stores in Towne East Square on Aug. 30, 2013, and for shoplifting food and a boy’s stocking cap from Dillons at 5500 E. Harry on Dec. 28, 2013.

She pleaded guilty in both cases and was sentenced to probation by a Sedgwick County District Court judge.

Court records show she violated the terms of her probation a number of times since then, including when she:

▪ Was accused of possessing drug paraphernalia on Aug. 6, 2014, and was seen leaving a location known for drug complaints that same day. The charge was dismissed.

▪ Tested positive for methamphetamine Feb. 6 and was ordered to serve two days in jail.

▪ Admitted to using meth on March 1 and missed a March 5 treatment session. She was ordered to serve four days in jail and write an apology letter to treatment.

▪ Tested positive for meth on March 4 and was ordered to serve six days in jail.

▪ Tested positive for meth and marijuana on May 12 and failed to submit community service hours. A judge ordered her to serve four days in jail and added 14 more community service hours to her total.

▪ Submitted a positive urinalysis on May 22 (the substance was not listed in court records) and failed to submit community service works hours as directed. The sanction was six days in jail. By then, she owed 36 hours of community service.Williams also has convictions for possession of controlled substances in 2004 and driving under the influence in 2006 in Pueblo, Colo., according to court records.

Wichita police Detective Andrew Do said Monday that officers were still looking for the 41-year-old in connection with the June 16 theft attempt from Kohl’s and the child abandonment. A judge last week issued a $250,000 bench warrant for Williams’ arrest, according to court records.

In an interview with The Eagle last week, the 5-year-old boy’s mother said he had been living with Williams, his paternal grandmother, since August 2011. Tiffani Picciurro, 25, claims Williams took her son, then not quite 2 years old, to Kansas during a move and didn’t return him. She said she knew who her son was with and where he was living but never retrieved him to avoid family conflict.

She said she lives in Amarillo, Texas, with her fiance and other children now.

On Friday morning, after three days of police protective custody, a Sedgwick County juvenile court judge placed the boy in foster care. Assistant District Attorney Amanda Marino said Friday in court that both the boy’s mother and an aunt knew of the hearing but didn’t attend, and that his father and Williams hadn’t yet been found.

This story was originally published June 22, 2015 at 7:51 PM with the headline "Grandmother who left boy in Kohl’s has past convictions."