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Gilgo Beach prosecutor says NY bail law fails to consider ‘dangerousness’
Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney slammed New York’s bail reforms which allowed four people suspected of dismembering two different bodies and dumping pieces around Long Island to walk free.
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A New York woman accused of gruesomely dismembering two bodies and then scattering the parts on Long Island was arrested last week, days after being freed under state bail laws.
Amanda Wallace is one of four people charged in connection with discarding the body parts of two victims at various parks on Long Island.
On Friday, she was arrested for allegedly stealing beauty products from a Lindenhurst CVS store while under court-ordered electronic monitoring, Newsday reported. Wallace, 40, of Amityville, has pleaded not guilty to petit larceny.
Police said a CVS employee called authorities at 10:50 p.m. Friday about the alleged theft and Wallace was taken into custody.
GILGO PROSECUTOR SLAMS NY GOV HOCHUL CRIME POLICY AS ‘LAUGHABLY INADEQUATE’ AFTER BODY PARTS SUSPECTS FREED
Amanda Wallace leaves Suffolk’s First District Criminal Court in Central Islip, New York, Monday, March 11, 2024. Wallace was arrested days after she was released without bail in connection to a gruesome discovery of dismembered body parts in Babylon, Long Island. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
“I did — eyelashes and nail polish,” Wallace told an officer, according to the court documents obtained by the newspaper. “I forgot my money and really didn’t feel like walking back over.”
Prosecutors asked that Wallace be held on $10,000 cash bail, telling a judge: “She did it while wearing a GPS monitor, your honor.”
Suffolk County Judge James McDonaugh ordered Wallace held without bail in the body parts case, saying she violated the conditions of her earlier release. Bail for the petit larceny charge was set at $5,000 cash bail, $10,000 surety bond or $50,000 partially secured bond.
“At the bare minimum, you should be able to go nine days without being rearrested,” McDonaugh said.
OFFICIALS RAIL AGAINST BAIL REFORM AS 4 SUSPECTS CHARGED, THEN LET GO IN NY BODY MUTILATIONS CASE
Jeffrey Mackey leaves Suffolk’s First District Criminal Court in Central Islip, New York, Friday, March 8, 2024. Mackey has been arraigned and released without bail in connection to a gruesome discovery of dismembered body parts in Babylon this week. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
Wallace and her boyfriend, Steven Brown, 44; Jeffrey Mackey, 38; and Alexis Nieves, 33; have all pleaded not guilty to first-degree hindering prosecution, concealment of a human corpse, and tampering with physical evidence by concealing or destroying.
Evidence against the suspects includes human remains, meat cleavers, butcher knives, significant amounts of blood and video surveillance, authorities said.
The two victims have been identified as 53-year-old Malcolm Brown and 59-year-old Donna Conneely. Their dismembered remains were found on Feb. 29 and March 5 in a park in Babylon, Bethpage State Park and a wooded area in West Babylon.
Steven Brown and Amanda Wallace leave Suffolk’s First District Criminal Court in Central Islip, New York Monday, March 11, 2024. Brown and Wallace have been arraigned and released without bail in connection to a gruesome discovery of dismembered body parts in Babylon last week. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
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All four defendants were initially released without bail.
Under New York’s 2019 reform laws, charges of merely chopping up and disposing of dead bodies aren’t eligible for bail, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected].