Pregnant Mugger And Accomplices Denied Bail Reduction, Still in Custody

Three suspects in a mugging on Walworth Avenue were in court Wednesday, mainly for their lawyers to request that their clients' hefty bail be reduced.

On April 12, a 49-year-old Scarsdale woman was attacked and mugged while making her way home from the train station. Two young women came up behind her and pulled her coat over her head, causing her cell phone and glasses to fall to the ground. The women grabbed the victim's purse, which had $60 and several credit cards in it, and dashed into a waiting car driven by a third person.

One week later, White Plains Police picked up 21-year-old Krystal Walters of Greenburgh on an unrelated robbery charge. The incident was similar to that in Scarsdale. 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, and turned over to the Scarsdale Police Department. During Wednesday's court appearance Walters kept her eyes closed and repeatedly shook her head.

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.

"If they had bought bread at the supermarket, I could be a bit more understanding, but this was just frivolous," said a source close to the case.

One week after Walters was arrested the other two suspects, 20-year-olds Neshia Dias and Jasmine Burnett, both of White Plains, were identified and arrested. Burnett is five months pregnant.

Now, all three women are facing felony robbery and grand larceny charges. On Wednesday their lawyers asked that the $100,000 bond or $50,000 cash bail be reduced.

"This is murder bail, and it's not a murder," said Joseph Villanueva, who is representing Dias.

But Judge Arlene Katz refused to alter the bail for Walters and Burnett, saying she was uncomfortable disturbing an order set in place by senior Judge John Galloway, who was summoned to court after midnight to arraign the suspects.

Katz did reduce Dias' bail to $25,000, but that's a far cry from the $1,500 bail her lawyer requested. Katz said she was swayed to reduce her bail because her mother appeared in court with her and she is suspected of driving the getaway car and not being one of the attackers.

If she makes bail, Dias will have to abide by a 7 p.m. curfew. Her mother, Albena Dias, said the incident is an aberration for her daughter.

"Neshia behaves well at home. I never have any problems with her," she said, adding that Neshia is a nurse's aid and her income is vital to covering the family expenses.

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

The women will be back in Scarsdale Court May 19.