Amy Starnel Herren-VanHorn of Paragould was walked outside the Lawrence County Jail today to serve part of her sentence handed down by District Judge Adam Weeks. Herren-VanHorn was convicted on (2) counts of shoplifting after she was arrested by the Walnut Ridge Police Department in two incidents, one involving the Dollar General Store and one involving Ma and Pa’s Flea Market in Walnut Ridge.
Judge Weeks ordered Herren-VanHorn to 30 days in jail with 15 days suspended in exchange for the convicted thief to wear a sign stating her crime and march back and forth in front of the Lawrence County Courthouse professing her guilt. At 5pm Wednesday, Lawrence County Jail Administrator Debbie Burleson led the inmate to the sidewalk in front of the courthouse where she could begin her sentence as ordered by Judge Weeks. For two hours the inmate has to walk the sidewalk holding the sign as the public drives up and down busy Main Street in Walnut Ridge.
Amy Starnel Herren-VanHorn has an extensive lengthy criminal record that shows being booked 45 times, using 6 different alias’, multiple social security numbers and over a dozen different addresses since 1999. Her convictions range from Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor to Commercial Burglary to Negligent Homicide. Herren-VanHorn has served time in not only the Lawrence County Jail but Greene, Clay, Craighead and a lengthy stay in the Arkansas Department of Corrections in Pine Bluff. Herren-VanHorn also has a lifetime ban on entering either the Dollar General or Ma and Pa’s Flea Market in Walnut Ridge.
Amy Starnel Herren-VanHorn remains in the Lawrence County Jail until her full sentence is served. For more information on the Walnut Ridge Police Department visit www.cityofwalnutridge.com .
