Young purse snatcher pleads guilty

The woman arrested after injuring a 78-year-old woman while attempting to steal her purse in January pleaded guilty to robbery Thursday in Flathead District Court.

Kimberly Ann Ward, 23, testified that she’s addicted to morphine and that she was trying to get money to buy more when she saw Hildegard Krause in the parking lot of Walmart on Jan. 19.

She’s signed a plea agreement with the Flathead County Attorney’s Office and will be sentenced during an Aug. 18 hearing.

Krause suffered bruising and several fractures to her pelvis after Ward grabbed her purse and dragged her to the ground before fleeing.

Ward was unable to wrestle the purse away from Krause.

Deputy County Attorney Lori Adams said Krause spent nearly two months in a nursing facility following the attack. She is expected to testify at the sentencing hearing, Adams said.

Krause has indicated she would like to see Ward spend time in prison, Adams said.

“That is what she wants to see happen in this case,” Adams said. “This is a very serious case of robbery.”

District Judge David Ortley has asked for a pre-sentence investigation report from the Department of Corrections that will result in a recommended sentence for Ward.

Ward and her attorney have the right to argue for a lesser sentence, according to the plea agreement. Robbery carries a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and not less than two years.

Ward has no previous felony convictions.

Her brother, Kevin Ward, already has been convicted of accountability to robbery after pleading guilty under a plea agreement early this year.

He confessed to driving his sister to and from the parking lot. Kevin Ward, 20, was sentenced to four years with the Montana Department of Corrections on April 14 by District Judge Ted Lympus.