Putnam County Sheriff Donald B. Smith reported the arrest of a 25-year-old Cold Spring resident on criminal charges stemming from her alleged involvement in the thefts from two homes in the Village of Cold Spring. Shannon Conley of 16 Furnace St. allegedly stole more than $20,000 worth of jewelry and money from one home and credit cards from a second residence.

On June 19, 2012, the Sheriff’s Office received a complaint from a Cold Spring resident reporting that jewelry and money were missing from her home. A probe conducted by Investigator Robert Ferris of the Sheriff’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation led to suspicions of Conley’s involvement in that theft.

On July 13 Conley was interviewed at the Sheriff’s Office, at which time she was found to be in possession of two credit cards that did not belong to her. The credit cards were traced back to their rightful owner, an individual unrelated to the complaint for which Conley was being interviewed. The owner was contacted, and reported that she had previously hired Conley to watch her pet and was unaware that the credit cards had been stolen.

Further investigation revealed that Conley was once employed for several months as a babysitter for the children of the original complainant. It was during this time that Conley is believed to have taken jewelry and money valued at approximately $20,000.

Much of the gold jewelry was sold as scrap; however, investigators recovered some of the stolen jewelry and coins from a precious-metal ​buyer in Fishkill.

Conley was charged with Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fifth Degree, a class “A” misdemeanor. She was arraigned before ​Philipstown Town Justice Alan Steiner and remanded to the Putnam County Correctional Facility in lieu of $10,000 cash bail or $20,000 secured bond.

On July 17, after consulting with the Putnam County District Attorney’s Office, Investigator Ferris filed additional criminal charges against Conley. She was charged with Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, a class “D” felony and two counts of Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree — each count being a class “E” felony. Conley was arraigned before Cold Spring Village Justice Thomas Costello on those charges. She is due to appear in Cold Spring Court to answer these criminal charges on Aug. 8 at 10 a.m.

If convicted of the most serious charge, Conley may be sentenced to a term of incarceration for up to seven years in a New York State correctional facility.

Behind The Story

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