Police arrest and Albany DA indict three for retail crime ring, but there is more

• Part of a larger group of at least eight

• Criminal justice reform blamed continuation of crime

• More charges wouldn’t mean more jail time

ALBANY– County District Attorney David Soares announced the indictments of three Albany women at a press conference on Wednesday, Oct. 2, for their involvement in a major retail crime ring in the Capital District.

Soares also highlighted that complications arose from recent bail reform legislation, which prevents judges from setting bail in cases of petty and grand larceny, allowing suspects to reoffend multiple times.

The six-count indictment named two of the three women: Winter Vandross, 19, and Zamaria Williams, 22, both of Albany. A third suspect, Myunique McQueen, 21, also of Albany, was at large but was arrested on Friday, Oct. 11. Although McQueen was not named during the press conference, Spotlight News confirmed her identity through multiple sources familiar with the situation.

“These three young ladies account for over $78,000 worth of stolen merchandise from just three stores… in just three short months,” Soares said, referring to thefts from Kohl’s, LensCrafters, and Ulta Beauty.

Spotlight News has previously reported on these individuals and other associated suspects numerous times . Our investigation revealed a broader picture, with the total value of thefts over the past two years reaching $110,000. This includes additional retailers such as Macy’s, Home Depot, Dick’s, and Lowe’s, and involves eight suspects across multiple jurisdictions. We only cover four police agencies in the area, and the number of warrants issued for these suspects is too numerous to count.

According to Soares, the stolen merchandise was primarily sold through online marketplaces such as Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist.

Soares praised the Colonie Police Department for its efforts and stressed the importance of coordination with other counties to combat the rising issue of retail theft. He urged retailers to work closely with law enforcement and loss prevention teams, noting that many thefts go unreported.

A Spotlight News investigation uncovered connections between McQueen, Kamel Pickens, 33, of Albany, and dozens of other larcenies. While our reporting focuses on felony charges, we are aware of many more incidents classified as misdemeanors that we cannot track. Judges, district attorneys, and police can access this information through the official record of arrests and prosecutions, known as a RAP sheet. However, under current bail reform laws, judges are often unable to consider bail for these crimes.

“When our legislators decided to reform our criminal justice statutes… one of the things they did was list petty larceny among crimes for which a judge cannot set bail,” Soares said.

Under New York’s bail reform law, passed in 2020, judges are prohibited from setting bail for most non-violent offenses, including petit larceny and grand larceny. While the intent was to reduce pretrial detention for low-level offenders, the legislation has faced criticism for allowing repeat offenders to avoid incarceration and continue committing crimes.

Soares emphasized that bail reform has exacerbated the problem of retail theft. Petit larceny and even grand larceny (theft exceeding $1,000) are now crimes for which bail cannot be set, leading to the release of offenders who often reoffend without consequence. According to the State Office of Judicial Support, which provides guidance to local courts, bail can only be set for individuals convicted of multiple felonies, and a new arrest for additional crimes during the adjudication process, even if there are multiple non-eligible offenses, does not allow judges to keep them off the street.

“When our legislators decided to reform our criminal justice statutes, they inadvertently created a revolving door for repeat offenders,” Soares said. “Retail theft is a growing problem, but the inability to set bail for these crimes means offenders are back on the street within hours.”

An example is seen in Williams, who was charged in these indictments. She was charged with the incidents at Ulta, LensCrafters, and Kohl’s, but the Colonie police also arrested her for other crimes outside those in the indictments. Williams was charged with an additional grand larceny-third degree (over $3,000) at Kohl’s and two grand larceny-fourth degree (over $1,000) for incidents at Dick’s in Latham. Williams was also charged with a bench warrant for failing to appear in Colonie court and with bail jumping for not appearing in County Court.

Even with the indictment, new additional charges, and warrants, she was released from the Albany County jail under the supervision of probation after a County Court hearing on Oct. 3.

As of Sunday, Vandross and McQueen remained in custody at the Albany County jail.

Others in the Ring

Spotlight News found four other women were arrested with McQueen and Pickens, adding up to dozens of arrests since 2022. These crimes also extended into surrounding counties.

Jonneasia A. Welcome , 20, of Albany, was arrested with McQueen and Pickens in connection with thefts at Ulta Beauty and Lowe’s in 2023. She is currently in the Onondaga County jail for incidents there.

Desiree Fowler , 22, of Albany, was with McQueen in Slingerlands in 2022 when they were arrested for filling bags with merchandise at Price Chopper. She had warrants at that time but was released and currently has open warrants for her arrest.

Halasha Maeweather , 20, of Albany, was arrested with McQueen in November 2023 and had larcenies in 2022 and three in 2023. She had five outstanding warrants when arrested in November 2023 and is currently in the Schenectady County jail as of June 4.

Yavae Bennett, 21, of Albany, was arrested in Colonie with McQueen in 2023 for larcenies.

Pickens is currently in the Ulster County jail for convictions down there. He was also convicted of bank robbery in 2012 in Federal Court for three robberies with his girlfriend Jeliessa Centra. The robberies took place in Albany, Troy, and Concord, NH, in 2011. He served time for that. The status of the Capital District cases is unclear.

More Charges Could Come, But There Is a Cap

“The indictment and its simplicity cover a short period of time and demonstrate a high volume of retail theft, and is meant to interrupt their activity,” Albany County District Attorney Spokesman Darrell Camp said in response to questions about the other suspects. “The other charges that are open and lodged will factor into their fate further down the road.”

He explained that more charges could be lodged against them in another indictment.

“There are both additional uncharged crimes and chargebacks that we could consider, as opposed to initially burdening the court,” Camp said.

By operation of law, the most the three women will serve is 10 to 30 years if convicted after trial. Under New York State law, nonviolent offenses aggregate to that as a cap, even if the sentences exceed 10 years.

“So, for example, if the judge sentences them to 45 to 90 years, the most they would serve is 10 to 30,” Camp said. “For practical reasons, we’ve avoided using valuable grand jury time and additional civilian witnesses just to reach a maximum sentence that can be achieved with this indictment.”

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