SALT LAKE CITY — A woman arrested over the weekend following a six-hour standoff with police was no stranger to law enforcers.
Sum-Ko Wiley, 23, was arrested Saturday afternoon, along with Milak Benson, 39, after police say the two went on a robbery spree that ended with the couple barricading themselves in a room at the Quality Inn motel, 1659 W. North Temple.
Wiley is credited as "student #3" in the 2006 Disney movie, "Read It and Weep."
Since then, however, her public appearances have mainly been in 3rd District Court.
In 2009 she was arrested after police said she walked into homes in her neighborhood and stole everything from cameras, watches, snowboards, jewelry and video game systems in order to feed her heroin habit.
Wiley was charged in 3rd District Court with 18 felonies and misdemeanors, mainly for burglary and theft. In September of 2010 she took a plea in abeyance to two counts of burglary, two counts of theft and one count of fraudulent use of credit card in exchange for the remaining charges to be dismissed.
That plea came just a month after she accepted another plea in abeyance in a separate case. Wiley pleaded guilty in that case to an amended charge of attempted theft by receiving stolen property.
In December, Wiley pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of giving false identification in exchange for a shoplifting charge to be dismissed.
Since her guilty pleas in abeyance, however, court records show Wiley had been in and out of drug treatment programs, until finally a warrant was issued for her arrest on Jan. 27 when she failed to show up for court.
In July 2010, Wiley was accepted into drug court and released from custody in order to resume treatment, according to court records. In August, she was found to be noncomplaint with drug court and placed into custody again. She was again found to be non-compliant in September and sentenced to more jail time.
On Sept. 30, the court ordered Wiley to serve 180 days in jail for being noncompliant with her drug treatment, according to court records. On Dec. 9, the court ordered that Wiley could be released from custody to continue her treatment.
On Dec. 16, the court found that Wiley was "clean and compliant" with her treatment, and found the same on Dec. 23, according to court records.
But on Jan. 6, Wiley failed to show for a review hearing. She failed again on Jan. 27 and a $25,000 warrant was issued for her arrest. She again failed to appear for a review hearing on Feb. 10 and the warrant was allowed to remain outstanding and a "30 days commitment" to begin upon her apprehension, court records state.
Despite Wiley's record, for many people Drug Court works, said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill.
"Many people find this program and the support and help they need for breaking the cycle (of addiction)," he said.
But Gill said it is called "addiction" for a reason, and sometimes people have violations of their sentences, ranging from smaller technical violations to committing new crimes and making major violations.
While he could not comment specifically on Wiley's case because it was still active, Gill said if someone is found to have a major violation of their plea in abeyance while in drug court, they could be sentenced in full to their original guilty pleas.
The process of breaking addiction isn't overnight. The goal of Drug Court is to "try and create valleys rather than peak to peak" with the frequency of relapses, he said.
"This program works for many. But it is a long process," Gill said.
But there is also a problem of not enough funding and space for every person who needs help resulting in waiting lists and addicts not getting the help they need in a timely fashion, he said.
According to police, the latest crime spree involving Wiley along with Benson began about 1:30 p.m. Friday when Benson demanded the car keys of a man outside a business near 175 S. 900 West. The man said 'No' and walked into the business, according to police.
The suspect followed, however, and forcibly took the man's keys and then demanded money at gunpoint from a second man sitting at another table, said Salt Lake City Police Sgt. Shawn Josephson.
Just after 7 p.m. Friday, police say Benson demanded money at gunpoint from two people in front of Crown Burger near 300 W. North Temple. The man then entered the restaurant, placed his gun on the counter and demanded an employee empty the till, Josephson said. He left in a vehicle driven by a woman.
Seventeen minutes after the Crown Burger robbery, police say the couple robbed a Tesoro at gunpoint at 965 N. Beck St.
The next morning, about 7:10 a.m., police say the crime spree continued with an armed robbery at Burger King, 575 E. 400 South. Police spotted the getaway vehicle just after 9 a.m. Following a short chase, the couple ended up at the hotel where the SWAT standoff began soon after.
Court records show Benson has been arrested in previous cases for drug and alcohol possession.
e-mail: preavy@desnews.com; Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeam