DA: Burglaries Targeted Homes Of Bereaved Spouses

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — A Bronx woman is accused of committing a series of residential burglaries of Westchester homes where people were attending their spouses' wake or funeral services.

Latonia Shelecia Stewart was arraigned Wednesday following a 22-count indictment by the Westchester County Grand Jury, District Attorney Anthony A. Scarpino Jr. announced.

Prosecutors allege the 28-year-old looked up obituaries online and targeted homes of individuals she believed would not be home because they were attending services. At some of the residences, she broke windows and glass doors to enter, using a mallet hammer which police said they located under the seat of her vehicle when she was apprehended.

When the people returned home, they found their home burglarized. They reported jewelry and other personal property missing. The break-ins started in fall 2017 and ended in spring 2018.

Stewart became a suspect. On May 1, 2018, Greenburgh police, after watching her for some time, said they saw her driving away from a dead person's home. They stopped her car on the Sprain Brook Parkway. Inside the vehicle, they allege they found jewelry in plain view. She also had an obituary on her cellphone.

Her baby was in the car at the time, prosecutors said.

Police took Stewart into custody and later searched her car and her Bronx residence. They allege they found more stolen items and burglar’s tools.

The Westchester charges against Stewart stem from six incidents in Rye Brook, Cortlandt, Scarsdale, Irvington (Town of Greenburgh), Ossining and Tarrytown.

Greenburgh police and the DA’s Investigations Division had the assistance of New York State Police, Greenwich PD, Ossining PD, Tarrytown PD, Scarsdale PD and Rye Brook PD.

She also faces charges for burglaries in Greenwich, Connecticut and in Carmel in Putnam County, the DA said.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Joseph DiBenedetto, Deputy Chief of the Pattern Crime Unit, and Stefanie DeNise of the Investigations Division.

Stewart is scheduled next to appear in court Aug. 13.