Albany man has faced multiple arrests since 2021 in town
DELMAR— Joseph Barba was brought back to Bethlehem by State Police on Friday, Feb. 21, to face charges related to a December incident at Market 32 in Slingerlands.
Barba, 41, of Albany, has been involved in multiple larceny incidents in Bethlehem, including cases in May and February 2024, September and January 2023, January 2022, and September 2021. Each time he was wanted by other agencies on outstanding warrants and was found in possession of drugs or drug paraphernalia.
In July 2023, Barba was arrested behind Hannaford on Delaware Avenue for possessing multiple baggies of heroin with a combined weight of 7.5 grams, along with a quantity of Gabapentin.
He also had an outstanding warrant from the City of Albany. At that time, he was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor, and was given an appearance ticket for Bethlehem Town Court on Thursday, Aug. 3, before being transported to Albany.
In the most recent Slingerlands case, on Tuesday, Jan. 16, loss prevention employees at Market 32 reported that Barba was captured on surveillance video taking $249.86 worth of merchandise from the store, despite having been trespassed from the location in 2021.
Since he was not allowed in the store and allegedly entered to steal, Bethlehem police charged him with third-degree burglary, a felony, and petit larceny, a misdemeanor.
He was arraigned in Bethlehem Town Court and released under the supervision of probation with electronic monitoring.
Aggravated DWI on River Road
GLENMONT— Bethlehem police responded to the area of River and Read roads at 4:15 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 23, following reports of a U-Haul van driving without lights, under the speed limit, and swerving out of its lane.
According to reports, officers located a Ford van traveling northbound on River Road near Glenmont Road, where it repeatedly crossed over the double yellow line. The driver failed to stop immediately, eventually coming to a slow halt.
Officers identified the driver as a 51-year-old Schenectady woman, who displayed poor motor skills, glossy eyes, and an odor of alcohol. She admitted to drinking two Corona beers and smoking marijuana earlier in the night. She failed field sobriety tests and tested positive for alcohol on a pre-screening device.
At the police station, the woman provided a breath sample indicating a .20 percent blood alcohol content (BAC). She was charged with aggravated DWI, a misdemeanor, and ticketed for failure to keep right, failure to obey a police officer, and insufficient lights.
She was issued a bill of particulars and released with an appearance ticket for Bethlehem Town Court on Wednesday, March 5.
Grand larceny case in Selkirk
SELKIRK— A local business owner who mailed two checks before leaving for vacation last summer later discovered they had been stolen, altered, and fraudulently cashed before her return.
According to reports, the owner of a Selkirk business wrote two checks for $154 and $294 from a TD Bank account and placed them in the mailbox with the flag raised for pickup on Wednesday, June 12. The next day, the envelopes were gone. When the owner returned from vacation on Friday, June 28, she discovered that one of the checks had been fraudulently altered and cashed for $6,924.55. The canceled check was not in her handwriting and was made payable to Saniya Jeffers. It had cleared on Friday, June 14.
Bethlehem detectives launched an investigation and obtained a search warrant for Jeffers’ accounts. After further review, an arrest warrant was issued on Monday, Nov. 27.
Jeffers, 25, of Albany, turned herself in to Bethlehem police on Tuesday, Feb. 25. She was charged with third-degree grand larceny, a felony, as well as forgery and petit larceny, both misdemeanors.
She was arraigned by Bethlehem Town Judge Erin Lynch and released on her own recognizance. Jeffers is scheduled to appear in Bethlehem Town Court on Tuesday, March 18.
Larceny and bail jumping charge
GLENMONT— A man found in possession of stolen merchandise at Walmart in Glenmont on Sunday, Feb. 23, was later charged with bail jumping after officers determined he had an active warrant.
According to reports, officers responded to Walmart and found Howard Revelle, 71, in possession of stolen merchandise. A check of his identification revealed that he was wanted by State Police in Schodack.
Walmart declined to press charges but issued a trespass notice banning Revelle from all Walmart locations.
State Police took custody of Revelle, who was later charged with second-degree bail jumping, a felony. He was held and transported to Rensselaer County Jail.
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