Albany County District Attorney Lee C. Kindlon announced today that the 49-year-old Troy woman who drove onto a soccer field to evade police after robbing a Walmart has been sentenced to state prison.

April Mahoney was sentenced to serve two and a half to five years in state prison by the Honorable William Little after pleading guilty to Burglary in the Third Degree, a conviction that covered multiple retail theft charges Mahoney has incurred in Bethlehem and Colonie.

Mahoney was also sentenced to serve one year in local jail for the Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree conviction for the soccer field incident, to run concurrently to the previous sentence.

On Sept. 16, 2025, Bethlehem Police responded to the Walmart on Route 9W in Glenmont at 6 p.m. after receiving reports of an active theft. Three suspects were spotted leaving the parking lot in a Ford Escape SUV. When officers tried to pull the vehicle over, Mahoney sped off south on Route 9W.

The chase carried onto Feura Bush Road, where Mahoney then left the roadway, drove down an embankment and onto soccer fields at Elm Avenue Park, where spectators were watching youth games.

Mahoney and her two passengers abandoned the SUV and ran into the park’s wooded area, but Bethlehem Police arrested them shortly thereafter.

During the investigation, police recovered evidence of multiple thefts from businesses throughout Bethlehem.

Assistant District Attorney Anthony Huntley of the Financial Crimes Bureau prosecuted the case.