Stolen guns from Glenmont Walmart leads to guilty plea
ALBANY– A Troy man pleaded guilty to Federal gun charges on Friday, Oct. 27 for a May 2022 theft of firearms from the Walmart on Route 9W in Glenmont.
Michael C. McDermott,30, of Troy, pled guilty today to stealing six firearms from a federally licensed dealer. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; John B. DeVito, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); and Bethlehem Police Chief Gina F. Cocchiara made the announcement.
McDermott admitted to forcing his way into the Glenmont Walmart on May 10, 2022, while it was closed overnight, smashing the glass gun case, and stealing six firearms. McDermott also admitted that when employees chased him into the woods, he pointed a firearm at them.
United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci will sentence McDermott on February 26. The conviction carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years.
A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
The ATF and Bethlehem Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Reiner is prosecuting the case.
Two arrested for grand larceny at Walmart
GLENMONT– Bethlehem police responded to a report of a larceny in progress on Sunday, Oct. 22 at approximately 5:39 p.m. The person reporting said that three people had just left the store and got into a white Kia.
When officers arrived they located the car while it was still in the parking lot and made contact with the four occupants and brought them back to the store.
Amareeonniae Lee, 18, and Coreyonniae Lee, 19, both of Albany and another minor were identified by employees as the alleged larcenists.
Amareeonniae and Coreyonniae were taken into custody and charged with grand larceny, a felony, and conspiracy and petit larceny, both misdemeanors and released with an appearance ticket for Bethlehem Town Court. The minor signed a trespass warrant from the store and Walmart did not want to press charges.
No license or reg., but had drugs, gun and child in back
RAVENA – An Albany woman driving in the Village of Ravena on Friday, Oct. 27 was stopped by Albany County Sheriff’s Deputies for having tinted windows and a suspended registration, but the stop revealed much more.
At 5:35 p.m. Deputies tried to pull the Nissan Altima over, but it did not stop. Finally, near the intersection of Mountain Road and Layman Street it did stop and deputies detained the driver, Christina Wright, 29, and found that she only had a learners permit. A search of the vehicle found that she had a 9 mm Taurus handgun in the center console and quantities of controlled substances in her purse. A 10-year-old girl was in the back seat of the car.
Wright was charged with one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, all felonies, and two counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, one count of endangering the welfare of a child and one count of aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, all misdemeanors, and several other vehicle and traffic violations.
She was arraigned in the Town of Coeymans Court and sent to the Albany County jail.
DWI on New Scotland Road
SLINGERLANDS – On Friday, Oct. 27 at approximately 7:48 p.m., Bethlehem police observed a 2019 Chevrolet Silverado traveling above the speed limit on Cherry Avenue Extension then sped up to 75 mph. The truck turned right onto New Scotland Road at the roundabout and the officer conducted a traffic stop near the intersection of Dunhill Court.
When interviewing the driver, a 22-year-old Albany man, officers observed him to have bloodshot and glassy eyes, slurred speech and had an odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from inside the vehicle.
The man said he had one Corona beer to drink. He was given and failed field sobriety tests and tested positive for breath alcohol on a pre-screening device.
At the police station, the man provided a breath sample that returned a .13 percent BAC.
He was charged with DWI and ticketed for speeding. The man was released with an appearance ticket for Bethlehem Town Court on November 21.
Criminal contempt and gun charges.
NEW SCOTLAND – Albany County Sheriff’s department arrested a 41 year old man from Albany for criminal contempt and criminal possession of a weapon charges.
On Saturday, Oct. 28 at approximately 3:16 pm deputies received a 911 call for a disturbance
at a residence in the Town of New Scotland. A male was located outside and identified as Shawn P. Grady. Through investigation it was determined that there were orders of protection mandating Grady to stay away from the residence. Grady was also found to be in possession of a Remington Arms shotgun and had previously been convicted of a felony offense. Grady was taken into custody at the scene.
Grady has been charged with two counts of criminal contempt in the first degree and one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, all felonies.
Grady was arraigned in the Town of New Scotland Court where he was then released on his own recognizance.
No lights but DWI
GLENMONT – Bethlehem police observed a blue 2017 Mazda driving on Route 9W with no lights on Sunday, Oct. 29 at approximately 2:34 a.m. and performed a traffic stop on the Delmar Bypass.
Upon interviewing the driver, a 26-year-old woman from Albany, officers observed her to have watery and bloodshot eyes and an odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from her breath. She was given and failed field sobriety tests, tested positive for breath alcohol on a pre-screening device and taken into custody.
An inventory of the car found two open and one unopened alcoholic beverage containers inside.
At the police station she provided a breath sample that returned a .12 percent BAC.
The woman was charged with DWI, a misdemeanor, and ticketed for no headlights, no tail lights and drinking alcohol in a motor vehicle. She was given an appearance ticket for Bethlehem Town Court on November 8 and released.
Stealing checks from mailboxes
COLONIE – On Thursday, Oct. 26, Sheriff’s Investigators arrested a female, identified as Elizabeth A. 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.
Dolder is accused of going into multiple banks and cashing checks belonging to victims across the Capital District. She is part of a larger investigation which includes individuals stealing checks from residential mailboxes throughout the Capital Region. The individuals would wash the checks and enter fraudulent information with the intent to cash the checks while defrauding the victims.
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 recognizance.