ONLEY, Va. (Delmarva Now) -- An Onancock woman pleaded guilty in Accomack Circuit Court to robbing an Onley church at gunpoint and abducting a church staff member.
Bertisha R. Johnson, 53, also pleaded guilty to eluding and assault and battery of a police officer in connection with the incident, which happened at St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church in Onley on May 24, 2017.
Commonwealth's Attorney Spencer Morgan recounted the events of May 24, starting around 11:30 a.m., when St. Peter's office manager Joanne Boyko saw a figure dressed in black enter the church building.
When the person turned around, Boyko saw she was wearing a mask and had what appeared to be a gun wrapped inside a plastic shopping bag, according to Morgan.
The person demanded money of the office manager, he said.
Boyko gave her the petty cash, around $21, and Johnson then "rifled though Ms. Boyko's purse," finding and taking a small amount of cash there.
Johnson then tied Boyko's hands, took her into the church kitchen and tied her to a cabinet.
The church had given financial help previously to Johnson, Morgan said.
At one point in the encounter, Boyko said to Johnson, "This is a church; we can help you."
She urged Johnson to go into the sanctuary, where she said there were additional items the woman could take — she was hoping for a chance to alert the authorities as to what was happening, according to the account.
Johnson then gagged Boyko and demanded her car keys, but Boyko eventually got loose and "lunged at the defendant," Morgan said.
Johnson then "hit her repeatedly" on the head with the weapon in the bag, then left the church "and jumped in a car," he said.
A Virginia state trooper soon after that saw a blue, four-door Ford vehicle traveling at high speed on Route 13, and gave chase but was unable to stop it.
The vehicle later was discovered in Greenbush, where Johnson also was found by officers — by this point, she was on foot.
Officers found Johnson with "a blue plastic bay with a BB gun in it," Morgan said.
Johnson gave a full confession to officers after she was apprehended, he said.
Defense attorney Carl Bundick told the judge Johnson "is extremely sorrowful for her acts."
A court-ordered report found Johnson was competent.
Judge W. Revell Lewis III continued the case for sentencing and ordered previous pre-sentence reports prepared for Johnson to be updated.
Johnson was remanded to jail to await sentencing.
The maximum sentence for the charges is life plus 23 years in prison and fines, Lewis said.
