New Mother Denied Bond Monday in Northampton Court

By Linda Cicoira

A New York woman, who has been separated from her now seven-week-old infant for the last three weeks while being held on felony charges at the Eastern Shore Regional Jail, was denied bond Monday in Northampton Circuit Court.

Twenty-eight-year-old Kenyanna Sheivonie Cummings, of The Bronx, wants to continue breastfeeding and caring for her baby.
Judge Lynwood Lewis said the law that was amended for nursing mothers was considered, but would not include Cummings due to her being a high flight risk with criminal convictions and charges from Massachusetts to North Carolina.

She and her cousin allegedly paid for groceries at a local Food Lion and at other businesses with counterfeit $100 bills. When they were apprehended, they allegedly possessed several thousand dollars in fake money.

Cummings was charged with 10 counts of forging a bank note, four counts of felony conspiracy to forge bank notes, a count of forging a public record, and identity theft.

Her lawyer said she was willing to wear a GPS-monitoring device and stay with her Air Force member sister in Virginia Beach where she could be with the child until her trial.

“The determining factor is she is not guilty of anything at this point,” said defense lawyer Jon Thornbrugh. “She is in the early stages of mothering.”

Commonwealth’s Attorney Jack Thornton argued that holding a prisoner without bond is available for those who are a flight risk or a danger to society. “A threat does not have to mean a violent threat. She has a long history of theft and fraud … “

The cousin, 34-year-old Andrea Monique Walker, of Brooklyn, N.Y., is apparently free on a $5,000 secured bond. She was charged with four counts of forging a bank note and five counts of conspiracy to forge bank notes.

The infant is being cared for by another of Cummings’ sisters, who also lives in New York.