Underhill

A Marshalltown woman was arrested Friday and charged with felony robbery in connection with an incident on Sept. 28 when she allegedly stole a victim’s backpack, assaulted him and damaged his eyeglasses case after trying to run away with the backpack.

According to court filings, 19-year-old Whitney Underhill is facing a charge of second-degree robbery, a Class C felony, after the alleged attack, which occurred sometime between 8:20 and 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 28. It does, however, indicate that Underhill was identified by witnesses, and the alleged victim chased her for 13 or 14 blocks before retrieving his backpack with money and eyeglasses missing. The backpack itself was also damaged. Security camera footage from Great Western Bank helped to identify Underhill, and the alleged victim picked her out of a photo lineup, according to Marshalltown Police Department Capt. Brian Batterson.

The alleged victim has since filed a no-contact order against Underhill, who has been released from the Marshall County Jail ahead of a preliminary hearing scheduled for Oct. 28. In August, Underhill received an $855 fine, community service and a DNA requirement upon pleading guilty to first-degree harassment, an aggravated misdemeanor, after she threatened to kill an unidentified victim and “shoot up” her home.