Colchester Woman Sentenced in Federal Court to 20 Months Imprisonment for Robbery of Church Street Store in Burlington

Burlington, Vermont – The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that yesterday Sabrina Kingsbury, 41, most recently of Colchester, Vermont, was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment by U.S. District Court Judge Christina Reiss. Judge Reiss also sentenced Kingsbury to three years supervised release, which follows her prison sentence. 

Kingsbury previously pleaded guilty to an offense under the Hobbs Act with obstructing commerce by robbery, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment. In recommending a sentence of 24 months or less, the government cited Kingsbury’s significant progress in addressing her substance abuse and mental health issues through treatment. 

According to court records on April 18, 2022, at approximately 4:00 p.m., Kingsbury entered the Black Diamond store at 17 Church Street and gathered about $1,200 worth of merchandise. Kingsbury then attempted to leave the store without paying for these items. After store employees confronted her, she threatened to stab one of them with a knife. Soon after, officers from the Burlington Police Department arrested Kingsbury with the merchandise near the bus stop located at St. Paul and Pearl Streets. At the time of her arrest, Kingsbury possessed a Gerber Leatherman knife. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Burlington Police Department investigated this case. The United States is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Perella. Steven Barth, Esq. of the Office of the Federal Public Defender represented Kingsbury.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime https://www.justice.gov/psn .