Pair Faces Attempted Kidnapping, Gun Charges

ST. LOUIS - A couple has been indicted and accused of kidnapping a St. Louis woman at gunpoint earlier this month.

Jervonz L. Williams, 48, and Emma M. Cunningham, 32, were each indicted in U.S. District Court Wednesday on one count of attempted kidnapping. Williams also faces one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and Cunningham faces one count of making a false statement in connection with the purchase of a firearm and one count of transferring a firearm to a convicted felon.

They appeared in court Friday and pleaded not guilty.

The indictment accuses Williams and Cunningham of holding a woman against her will on August 5 for a financial reward. The indictment accuses Williams of possessing a firearm while a convicted felon and Cunningham of providing him a firearm, knowing that he is a felon, and falsifying paperwork while buying a gun.

A motion seeking to have both held in jail until trial says the victim was a property manager who was meeting Cunningham for a final walkthrough of her apartment. The motion alleges that Williams was armed and threatened the life of the victim in an effort to access her financial accounts via her cell phone. The victim was bound with duct tape but managed to free herself and flee.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Bluestone is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.