Defendants stole and ‘washed’ dozens of checks in 2023
ALBANY – The final plea was inked on Wednesday, Aug. 21 with Averil Hall-Lewis, 43, of Schenectady signing a deal which reduced 66 charges to two and will send her to state prison for seven and one third to 21 years after Sentencing on October 28.
She pled guilty to criminal possession of a forged instrument and criminal possession of a forgery device in front of Albany County Judge William Little.
The indictment alleged that on various dates between August 29, 2023, and October 21, 2023, Hall-Lewis engaged in multiple fraudulent activities at financial institutions in the area, which led to the theft of thousands of dollars.
Specifically, Hall-Lewis was accused of possessing multiple checks that were stolen from mailboxes in the area, then acting in concert with co-defendants to “wash” them and fill them out for various sums of money that was split among the participants.
While the total amount of the proceeds has not been finalized, the defendants were able to fraudulently obtain at least $7,500. Among the institutions defrauded were Trustco Bank branches, Next Step Credit Union, Broadview, School Systems Credit Union, and Sunmark. Per the indictments against all involved parties, the ring stole and illegally used the personal identifying information of (29) individuals on different counterfeit items, some of whom have not yet been made whole at time of plea.
Co-defendant Robert Odom, 67, of Schenectady, previously pleaded guilty to 4 counts in a separate indictment, and co-defendant Elizabeth Dolder, 51, of Delanson pleaded guilty to 6 counts. Each faces a term of no less than 6 and no more than 12 years in State prison.
They are not new to our paper.
Colonie police captured Hall-Lewis and Odom after a traffic stop on Central Avenue on October 25, 2023 for violations and officers found much more.
An investigation found that Hall-Lewis had an outstanding warrant at the time and the passenger Odom had a quantity of crack cocaine. She was charged with criminal possession of stolen property over $3,000, criminal possession of a forgery device and possession of a forged instrument, all felonies, and criminal possession of stolen property, a misdemeanor. She was arraigned in Colonie Town Court at the time.
Odom was charged with criminal possession of stolen property over $3,000 and possession of a forged instrument, both felonies and criminal possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor.
On the same day, Colonie police picked up Dolder on a warrant at Schenectady County jail and charged her with two counts of identity theft, two counts of possession of a forged instrument, one count of grand larceny, and one count of attempted grand larceny, all felonies.
She was sent to the Albany County jail to join the other two, but that didn’t last long.
On November 9, Dolder was out of jail again, but lost her cell phone. It ended up at the Albany County Sheriff’s Office in Clarksville.
When she went to retrieve it, according to reports, when deputies did a DMV check of Dolder, they found she had an outstanding warrant from the City of Schenectady. She was taken into custody and transported to meet officers from that department.
Also we found out that on Thursday, Oct. 26, Sheriff’s Investigators arrested a female, identified as Dolder, who was in possession of two fraudulent personal checks and a fraudulent out-of-state license in the Town of Colonie on October 19.
At that time, she was going into multiple banks and cashing checks belonging to victims across the Capital District.
Dolder was charged with four counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree, a felony, and two counts of criminal possession of stolen property in the fifth degree, two counts of unlawful possession of personal identification in the third degree, two counts criminal impersonation in the second degree and two counts of petit larceny, all misdemeanors.
Dolder was arraigned at the New Scotland Town Court for the Town of Colonie Court and
was released on her own recognizance at that time.
Carjacking at Target
LATHAM – A Troy man is accused of assault, robbery and grand larceny of a motor vehicle at Target on Sunday, Aug. 25.
According to reports, Damani Murray, 20, of Troy was picked up by Troy police the next day and he was charged with robbery – motor vehicle, grand larceny and assault, all felonies for the incident. He was arraigned by Colonie Town Judge David Green.
Felony DWI
COLONIE – Colonie police stopped a vehicle near the intersection of Central Avenue and New Karner Road on Monday, Aug. 26 at 12:32 a.m. for not staying in a single lane.
According to reports, officers observed Lochanie Balkissoon, 29, showing signs of impairment. She was given and failed field sobriety tests and tested positive for breath alcohol on a pre-screening device which returned a 0.175 percent BAC. An investigation also found that Balkissoon had a prior alcohol-related conviction in the prior 10 years.
She was charged with felony DWI and ticketed for failing to stay in a single lane. Balkissoon was given an appearance ticket for Colonie Town Court on September 9.
Assault and weapon charges
LOUDONVILLE – A 28-year-old Loudonville man was arrested on Sunday, Aug. 25 for a domestic incident at his home a day earlier.
According to reports, police charged Arup Pani, with assault – intent to cause physical injury with a weapon, a felony, and criminal possession of weapon – with intent to use, a misdemeanor. The victim also requested an order of protection against Pani.
He was arraigned by Colonie Town Judge David Green.
DWI
COLONIE – On Sunday, Aug. 25, Colonie police stopped a vehicle driven by a 39-year-old Elmsford man near the intersection of Harriet Street and Lincoln Avenue.
The man was ticketed for refusing to take a breath test and drinking alcohol in a motor vehicle along with DWI.
He was given an appearance ticket for Colonie Town Court on September 9.
DWI
COLONIE – Colonie police observed a vehicle driving erratically while traveling east on Central Avenue on Thursday, Aug. 22 and performed a traffic stop.
A 76-year-old Colonie man was driving and showed signs of impairment. He was given and failed field sobriety tests and tested positive for breath alcohol on a pre-screening device.
He was charged with DWI and ticketed for failing to keep right. The man was given an appearance ticket for Colonie Town Court on September 9.
No lights, speeding, DWI
COLONIE – On Tuesday, Aug. 20 at 2:28 a.m., Colonie police stopped a vehicle near the intersection of Central Avenue and Tanglewood Road that was speeding with no lights on.
According to reports, a 36-year-old Colonie man who was driving showed signs of impairment. He was taken into custody and charged with DWI, a misdemeanor, and ticketed for speeding, driving with no lights, no tail lights, failure to stay in a single lane and drinking alcohol in a vehicle.
The man was given an appearance ticket for August 26 in Colonie Town Court.
Criminal contempt
COLONIE – Guilderland police turned over a Schenectady man to Colonie police on Sunday, Aug. 18 after officers took him into custody for an active arrest warrant.
According to reports, Gregory Cannell, 59, was involved in a domestic incident on July 28 on Central Avenue.
Cannell was charged with criminal contempt – first degree and aggravated family offense, both felonies, and assault with intent to cause physical injury, a misdemeanor.
He was sent to the Albany County jail as a pre-arraignment detainee and arraigned the next day.
Burglary and larceny
COLONIE – A 34-year-old Albany man faces upgraded charges after he was caught on Saturday, Aug. 17 allegedly stealing from Macy’s at Colonie Center.
According to reports, Jonathan Rivera was detained by loss-prevention employees at the store and he was previously trespassed for prior theft incidents.
Police charged him with burglary and grand larceny, both felonies. Rivera was arraigned.
Warrant Arrests this week
- Thomas Clements, 44, of Troy, on Tuesday, Aug. 27 for an outstanding warrant from City of Albany police.
- Vickie Harevy, 56, of Albany, on Tuesday, Aug. 27 for an outstanding felony warrant from Cohoes police.
- Herman Bass, 45, of Schenectady, on Monday, Aug. 26 was picked up at the Schenectady County jail for two warrants for not showing up for court in June.
- Stephen Budesa, 66, of Albany, on Thursday, Aug. 22 was picked up at the Saratoga County jail for three warrants for not showing up in Colonie Town Court in August.
- Kala Fulgan, 34, of Troy on Wednesday, Aug. 21 for not showing up for court in June and also for aggravated unlicensed operation.
- Brendan Coogan, 30, of Latham, on Wednesday, Aug. 21 for not showing up for court and bail jumping.
- Natasha Popolizio, 36, of Schenectady, on Monday, Aug. 19 for not showing up to Colonie Town Court in April.
- Melissa Manna, 45, of Coxsackie, on Monday, Aug. 19 for out-of-town warrant from Greene County.
- Ryan Benzeno, 39, who is homeless, on Monday, Aug. 19 for an active arrest warrant from Greene County.
- Lewis Nadal, 47, of Albany, on Sunday, Aug. 18. for a larceny at Burlington Coat Factory and gave police a fake name to hide that he had an outstanding warrant from the City of Albany.
- Jessica Ward, 41, of Schenectady, on Sunday, Aug. 18 for not showing up to Colonie in August 2023. She was also charged with criminal impersonation and bail jumping.
- David Pfauth, 75, who is homeless on Saturday, Aug. 17 for not showing up to Colonie Town Court in June.
- Antonio Wright, 36, of Albany, on Friday, Aug. 16 for an out-of-town warrant for a shoplifting investigation.
- Guillermo Santiago, 51, of Albany, on Friday, Aug. 16 for a warrant from Schenectady. He was the subject of an EMS call for service.
