A 22-year-old New Zion man charged in June with the robbery of a New Zion store has pleaded guilty to strong arm robbery in that case, according to records placed on the Clarendon Public Court Index on Monday.
Willie James Ham Jr. of 5963 Old Manning Road in New Zion pleaded guilty Sept. 8 before 3rd Circuit Judge R. Ferrell Cothran to strong arm robbery, receiving a sentence of six years in prison, suspended to 90 days in jail and three years' probation.
Clarendon County Sheriff Randy Garrett said that Ham went into the New Zion Mini-Mart on Salem Road June 30 and demanded money from the register.
“The clerk thought he was joking, and he said he was serious,” Garrett said. “She was unsure if he had a gun, but she took an undetermined amount of money from the register.”
James then ran out of the store and got into a red Ford Explorer, which deputies later stopped on S.C. 527 near the Sumter-Clarendon line.
“Deputies initiated a traffic stop, and both Ham and the passenger were arrested,” said Garrett. The passenger’s name was not immediately available Monday. Garrett said Ham was taken to the Clarendon County Detention Center, and that he was released two days later on a $10,000 surety bond.
The clerk told deputies, according to a report, that Ham would come in the store sometimes up to 15 times a day to buy canned Lipton Brisk Iced Tea. She said he would also come in and sit at the store’s table and watch her.
“(The clerk) said that earlier that day, she noticed him sitting in his vehicle outside the store and later watching her from behind the gas pump,” the report states.
Ham faced between 10 and 30 years in prison.
