Two people — a man and a woman — were both arrested for a robbery at a store in Uniondale.
On January 7, Nassau County officers from the First Squad were dispatched to a Walmart located at 1123 Jerusalem Avenue at 7 p.m. in response to a robbery. Upon arrival, they observed Anya Slater, 20, who is homeless, in a physical altercation with three Walmart employees after she tried to steal store merchandise but was stopped. Officers attempted to place Slater under arrest, but she physically resisted and an Electronic Control Device (ECD) was deployed. Slater was transported to a nearby hospital for assessment. The three employees sustained minor injuries but declined medical attention at the scene.
Officers were advised by employees that a second defendant had fled the scene on foot with store merchandise in a backpack. A short time later, Thomas Belajonas, 21, of 73 Chapin Avenue, North Merrick, was located on foot near the intersection of Jerusalem Avenue and Jerusalem Road in East Meadow and placed under arrest without further incident. All store merchandise was recovered.
Slater was charged with second-degree robbery, three counts of third-degree assault and resisting arrest. Belajonas was charged with second-degree robbery. Both were scheduled to be arraigned on January 8 at First District Court in Hempstead.