Servoss pleads guilty to Walmart attack

Mt. Vernon man sentenced to up to 10 years in prison
A Mt. Vernon man was sentenced to spend up to 10 years in prison after he made an Alford plea to six felony charges. Sara Servoss, formerly known as Brian Servoss, received the sentence as part of a plea agreement on Monday, June 2. Servoss is a biological male but identifies as a woman.
Online court records show that Servoss made the Alford plea on June 2, the same day he was sentenced. An Alford plea is one where the defendant does not admit guilt but accepts imposition of sentence and acknowledges that they would likely be found guilty if a trial were held.

Charges and sentencing
Servoss pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree assault – serious physical injury, two counts of second-degree assault, one count of disarming a police officer, one count of resisting arrest, and one count of unlawful use of a weapon. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the first-degree assault charge, seven years for each of the second-degree assault charges, seven years for the charge of disarming a police officer, four years for the charge of resisting arrest, and four years for the charge of unlawful use of a weapon; all sentences will be served concurrently. Also, a seventh charge of first-degree felony burglary was dismissed.
Facts in the case
Servoss was first arrested on March 20, 2023, after he attacked then Officer (now Sergeant) Tannya Benitez, of the Mt. Vernon Police Department, during an altercation at the Mt. Vernon Walmart. According to the probable cause statement in the case, Benitez responded to a call about an altercation at Walmart; she reported that she observed Servoss at the service desk counter with an open knife. Benitez said she removed the taser from her holster and ordered Servoss to drop the knife, but Servoss did not comply and stated, “I have the right to express myself.”
Servoss then refused to comply with repeated instructions to drop the knife.
Benitez reported that Servoss began to walk towards the exit where there were “several customers and employees,” with the knife still in his hand. At that point, Benitez reported, she deployed her taser, but while Servoss went to his knees, he still had the knife in his hand. At that point, Benitez said, Servoss ran towards her, swinging the knife into her left side, but the blade didn’t penetrate her body armor.
Servoss knocked the taser from Benitez’s hand and then picked it up from the floor and faced Benitez with both it and the knife. At that point, Benitez reported, she had her sidearm unholstered and pointed at Servoss, but deputy sheriffs from the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office then arrived and tasered Servoss, after which he was taken into custody.
Two Walmart employees later filled out statements in which they said that Servoss was “cussing” at them and demanding that they cash a two-party check.
Following Servoss’ sentencing, he was booked into the Lawrence County Jail, where he was held until he was transferred to the Missouri Department of Corrections on Friday, June 6.