Scarsdale Purse-Snatch Suspect Previously Charged in VOM

Two of the three women arrested for the purse-mugging of a Scarsdale pedestrian on April 12 were released from custody last Wednesday after the court determined there was no incriminating evidence with which to hold them.

The third woman, Krystal Walters, remains a suspect, facing three felony charges in the case – robbery in the 2nd degree, grand larceny in the 4th, and criminal possession of stolen property in the 4th. Neshia Dias, 20, and Jasmine Burnett, also 20, had initially been charged with the same felonies.

Walters has also piled on four charges – two of forgery and two of criminal possession of stolen property – in Mamaroneck Village and two counts of criminal possession of stolen property in Elmsford, according to the Westchester County Department of Corrections' website. She also has two outstanding felony charges of robbery and grand larceny in White Plains.

Dias was the first to have her handcuffs removed by the court officers, and she was allowed to join her father in the galley. Burnett, nearly six months pregnant, thanked her lawyer, then hovered near her friend Walters' side after her handcuffs were unlocked, waiting to hear the outcome on her attorney's request for lower bail.

Burnett and Dias were arrested on May 1 in connection with the mugging, which occurred at 7:16 p.m. on a Monday night.

Walters, 21, against whom police had reported was picked up for the crime on April 14 after police found her already in the custody of White Plains police, having been arrested for a similar mugging in that area.

Her Legal Aid attorney, Theresa Gugliotta, begged Judge John Galloway "for some reasonable reduction – anything lesser would help bring it to something they could at least hope to aim for," she said.

But Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Adimari interjected, "Judge, if you're considering a reduction in bail, we'd have to ask for a remand [in which she would be detained with no bail offer]. There's been a change of circumstances to the negative with this case." Elaborating, Adimari said, "She's been picked up for more charges since these originally were filed."

"I'm going to have to deny it," said Judge Galloway, repeating the offer of bail for $100,000 bond or $50,000 cash.

The initial crime occurred when two women attacked a 49-year-old Scarsdale woman as she walked home from the train station; coming up behind her they pulled her coat over her head, causing her cell phone to fall and her glasses to break. They grabbed her red designer purse, which had $60 and several credit cards in it, and dashed into a waiting car driven by a third person.

White Plains police had picked up 21-year-old Krystal Walters of 96 Dobbs Ferry Rd., White Plains, on an unrelated robbery charge, but in an incident with similar qualities to the one on Walworth Avenue. Walters was named as a suspect in the Walworth mugging after being identified in a gas-station surveillance tape using the victim's credit card.

Walters and her accomplices also used the cards to buy $300 worth of clothing at a Rainbow shop in the Bronx and to make other purchases, according to court documents.

Shortly after Walters' arrest, Dias and Burnett, both of White Plains, were identified and arrested. Dias, whose mother advocated for her in an earlier hearing, was suspected of driving the getaway car, not being one of the attackers. Albena Dias said her daughter was a well-behaved nurse's aid who helped provide for her family, and never caused any trouble.

Dias has twice been charged with robbery, but both cases were dismissed. Walters and Burnett are still facing robbery charges in White Plains.

Krystal Walters will return to Scarsdale court on August 25. Her next court date, in Elmsford, is on Friday.