MT. VERNON — A Mt. Vernon woman has been sentenced to 15 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for robbing a local convenience store.

41-year-old Heather Rowe received the maximum sentence for the Class 2 felony robbery for robbing the Circle K on South 10th Street in Mt. Vernon on May 4.

Rowe pleaded guilty to the charge, admitted that she approached the female employee on duty and implied she had a weapon and then left with about $30. The robbery was just before 4:30 a.m. and the female employee was the only worker in the building. This factored into the maximum sentence according to judge Jerry Crisel.

Rowe has priors for robbery, drug possession, driving under the influence and domestic battery, according to court reports.

Rowe will likely only serve about half of the sentence factoring good behavior and must also pay restitution and court costs plus have mandatory supervised release for three years following the prison term.