Albany police make arrests in murder, robbery cases

Kymani St. Clair

ALBANY — Officials with the Albany Police Department have announced a number of arrests in cases that involved a homicide and a pair of thefts.

APD officers arrested a pair of teens, Turenceau McRoy, 17, and Kymani St. Clair, 14, and charged the pair with murder and aggravated assault in the June 28 death of Neontae Clark, a 17-year-old.

Officers responded to the 2000 block of West Oglethorpe Avenue around 5:52 a.m. on June 28 in reference to a reported auto accident. Upon arriving at the scene, police officials found a deceased Clark sitting in the vehicle’s driver’s seat. After determining the death was a homicide, APD’s investigation led to McRoy and St. Clair, who were arrested and charged with murder.

McRoy is being held at the Dougherty County Jail, while St. Clair was transferred to the Regional Youth Detention Center.

APD also announced that two persons had been arrested in separate reported thefts. Stephen Mark Smith, 50, was arrested when a Flock camera identified his vehicle after he was recorded taking an air conditioning unit in the Archwood Plaza.

In a separate incident,Demetrius Whitfield, 18, entered a business on the 2700 block of Ledo Road and told employees he had a weapon. He stole electronics and was later identified through store video footage. He was arrested and charged with theft by intimidation and taken to the Dougherty County Jail.

During the investigation into the Archwood Plaza robbery, security camera footage captured the theft and recorded the suspect’s vehicle’s license plate. The responding officer entered the tag number into Flock and located the vehicle shortly afterward. A traffic stop was conducted, and the driver was taken into custody.

Smith was charged with felony theft by taking, and further investigation revealed that he was also connected to a similar theft involving an air conditioning system that occurred on June 29 at Aaron’s at 2623 Dawson Road. Smith and his vehicle were captured on surveillance footage during that incident as well.

He was additionally charged with felony theft by taking related to the June 29 incident and was transported to the Dougherty County Jail. The investigation into Smith and other similar incidents remains ongoing.

On July 14 APD’s Criminal Investigative Bureau investigated a robbery that occurred in the 2700 block of Ledo Road. Witnesses say Whitfield entered into a business armed with what employees believed to be a firearm and began inquiring about products sold. According to the employees, during this encounter Whitfield pulled out the firearm and identified it as a Glock 19.

There were no allegations that Whitfield aimed the firearm at the employees, but he placed the employees in fear by reminding them that he had a firearm and by stating that he could take all the items in the store from them. Whitfield stole electronics from the building and fled on foot.

Responding officers obtained screenshots of video footage from the area, which assisted with the identification of Whitfield. He was transported to the Dougherty County Jail on the charge of robbery by intimidation.