He stabbed a Spanaway Walmart clerk, and now he’s off to prison
The 32-year-old transient who stabbed a Spanaway Walmart clerk last year pleaded guilty to the incident Friday and will be serving more than two years in prison.
Billy Glen Childs had attempted to steal a BB gun and protein powder from the store at 20307 Mountain Highway E. on Oct. 14, 2016, when the clerk chased him. Childs turned around, stabbed him twice and fled.
Childs pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery and second-degree assault in Pierce County Superior Court, and he received a 25-month sentence. He originally faced first-degree robbery and first-degree assault charges.
After the stabbing, witnesses described the assailant to Pierce County sheriff’s deputies, one of whom remembered meeting Childs the day before at a nearby home.
The deputy went to the nearby home, finding Childs there with a black eye and wearing a pair of sweatpants that still had the tag on them.
Childs had told deputies he robbed the Walmart because his then-3-month-old daughter was in the hospital, addicted to methamphetamine, and he needed money to get to Tacoma to see her. He said he was stealing items for resale.
The clerk had to be hospitalized for his injuries.
Kenny Ocker: 253-597-8627, @KennyOcker
This story was originally published July 11, 2017 at 6:24 PM with the headline "He stabbed a Spanaway Walmart clerk, and now he’s off to prison."