Suffolk police: Suspect in body parts case in custody, stole items from CVS
Officials say Amanda Wallace was caught on camera stealing items from CVS Friday night.
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Amanda Wallace, one of the people accused of dismembering and disposing of a man and a woman across Long Island is in custody after being arrested again.
Suffolk police say Wallace stole beauty items from a Lindenhurst CVS on the evening of March 15. Prosecutors say they have video evidence.
Wallace had not needed to post bail in the previous case and was given a GPS monitoring device that she was wearing at the time she was rearrested. Part of the conditions of her release had been that she avoids getting in trouble again. Prosecutors argued in court Monday that because Wallace violated the terms of her release that she be held without bail. Attorneys for the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office added that through their investigation, they believe Wallace was tied to the dismemberment case because of a theft. They didn’t elaborate on the related details.
The Honorable James McDonaugh shared his concern with the court about releasing Wallace once again. He said if she couldn't avoid being rearrested in nine days, how could he trust she will continue to show up for court dates? He set her bail at $5,000.
Wallace's attorney Keith O'Halloran explained to News 12 that even if she posted bail, it would not make a difference as she was remanded in the human remains case for violating her release terms.
He called the new charge “frivolous” and said he still has not received any discovery for either case. He called bail in the petit larceny case outrageous.
"She's been here for every court date and my opinion is that she isn't avoiding court. The judge has a different opinion, and the judge usually has the final say on that," explained O'Halloran.
Wallace will return to court in Central Islip on Friday, March 22.
Steven Brown was also in court Monday. Brown, like Wallace, Jeffrey Mackey and Alexis Nieves are all accused of dismembering and disposing of 59-year-old Donna Conneely and a second victim named by family members as Malcom Brown. They'd been previously charged with hindering prosecution, tampering with evidence and concealment of a corpse after body parts were found across various places in both Nassau and Suffolk counties.
Steven Brown, who family members say is related to Malcolm Brown, spoke briefly with Judge McDonaugh. He will continue to wear a tracking device and will return to court on Monday, April 1. His attorney, Ira Weissman, said as they left the courtroom, “The GPS has done its magic. He's here. He's here on time to court, out of custody."
Nieves and Mackey will be back in court on Tuesday, March 19.
