Crime & Safety

Crimes and Incidents Nearby: Crash Kills Child, Hofstra Athletes Arrested

A weekly round-up of top crime and police stories reported in neighboring communities.

Boy, 6, Killed by NICE Bus Crash

A 6-year-old Hempstead boy was killed Tuesday when a Nassau Inter County Express bus crashed into his home.

The fatal crash occured around 9:34 p.m. on Nov. 27 in Hempstead. According to detectives, a 2009 Orion NICE bus was traveling westbound in the right lane of Fulton Avenue in the vicinity of Tennessee Avenue  when the male driver, 50, observed a pedestrian in the roadway. The 35-year-old man was crossing Fulton from south to north in an area where there is no marked crosswalk.

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The driver sounded the bus horn several times in an attempt to warn the pedestrian, and then performed an evasive maneuver, veering the bus vehicle to right, but still struck the pedestrian, report police.

The vehicle mounted the curb on the north side of Fulton Avenue, leaving the roadway, and struck the residence at 505 Fulton Ave., causing structural damage. David Granados, age 6, was in the front room of the house and was struck by building debris.

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Hempstead police and firefighters, Nassau County Advanced Medical Technicians and Nassau County Emergency Services Unit extricated the child and removed him to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead by hospital personnel at 10:32 p.m.

The boy's brother, age 7, was also present in the room at the time of the accident but sustained only minor injuries to his arms. He was transported to an area hospital, where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

The 35-year-old pedestrian was also taken to an area hospital, where he was admitted. His condition is unknown. Eight of the 11 passengers who were aboard the bus at the time sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were removed to various hospitals.

The bus was impounded for brake and safety checks. Detectives report no apparent criminality at this time and the investigation is ongoing.

Hofstra Basketball Players Charged with Burglarizing Students

Four Hofstra University basketball players were arrested Thursday and charged with committing multiple burglaries on campus, allegedly using their status as athletes to steal expensive electronics from other students' dorms.

Two of the team's leading scorers, Shaquille Stokes, a sophomore who hails from Manhattan, and Jimmy Hall, a freshman from Brooklyn, were charged with the crimes along with two other freshmen players, Kentrell Washington, of Las Vegas, and Dallas Anglin, of Montclair, N.J.

Throughout the 2012 Fall semester, students on Hofstra University's campus in Hempstead have been reporting an increasing number of lost, misplaced and stolen items, mainly Apple electronic devices including iPods, iPads, iPhones and MacBook laptops, according to police.

But when one female student whose iPad had been stolen in early November logged into her Apple account Tuesday, she discovered that her missing device was now registered to another person -- Shaquille Stokes, a sophomore and guard on Hofstra's basketball team.

With the assistance of Hofstra Public Safety, Nassau County Police launched an investigation and were able to connect Stokes to the stolen iPad and other electronic devices reported missing on campus, charging him with five counts of second-degree burglary. They also determined that Hall, Washington and Anglin were allegedly involved. Cote could not go into details but said the four students were found to be in possession of many of the stolen items.

Police charged Hall with four counts of second-degree burglary,Washington with two counts and Anglin with one count. Anglin was also charged with Tapering with Physical Evidence.

The four student athletes allegedly stole the items from dorms, often taking advantage of students who left the doors to their suites ajar. The value of the items they have been charged with stealing at this time exceeds $10,000, according to Cote, but police suspect this figure will increase as more victims come forward.  

The four students were arraigned Friday in First District Court in Hempstead, entering not guilty pleas, and have been suspended from Hofstra University, including the basketball team, classes, residence halls and facilities, pending the outcome of the case.

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Second Suspect Arrested for Garden City Burglary

Nassau County police have arrested a second subject in connection with a September burglary on Roosevelt Avenue in Garden City.

Police apprehended Sergio Aguirre, 21, of East Meadow, on Sunday, charging him with burglary 2nd degree.

Christian Pagan, 19, of Hicksville was arrested last week after the Nassau County Police Crime Scene Unit was able to obtain a latent finger print at the home. The print matched Pagan's, police said, who was also charged with burglary 2nd degree.

According to Nassau County detectives, around 3:45 p.m. on Sept. 3, Garden City police responded to a Roosevelt Avenue home for an alarm. Officers discovered window screens on the first and second floors had been cut and an unknown person had entered the second floor of the home.

No proceeds were reported stolen during the burglary, police said.

Garden City Man Arrested After Allegedly Choking Family Member

A 31-year-old Garden City man was arrested on Nov. 26 during a domestic incident for choking another family member and for intentionally damaging that person’s property.

Cops Arrest 3 for Possession of E

Garden City officers assisted Nassau County officers who had stopped a vehicle on Rockaway Avenue as a result of an investigation that originated in Mineola. On Nov. 27, Nassau police officers arrested three occupants in the vehicle (male 20-year-old from West Hempstead, a female 19-year-old from Greenvale and a female 18-year-old from Oyster Bay) for possession of the drug Ecstasy.

A fourth subject, a male 19-year-old from Franklin Square, had fled the scene on foot. Officer Matos patrolled the area looking for the subject and observed him in a taxi cab a short distance away. He stopped the vehicle and placed the subject under arrest for possession of Ecstasy. 

Thanksgiving Eve Arrests at Cannon's Blackthorn

Rockville Centre Police made two arrests for assault on Thanksgiving Eve at a popular bar and restaurant on N. Village Avenue.

Around 12:40 a.m. on Nov. 22, police arrested Yoan M. Collado, 24, of Freeport, and Thomas A. Martinez, 24, of Baldwin, and charged each of them with assault in the second degree following an investigation by police personnel at Cannon’s Blackthorn Restaurant.

For more local crime, click on the following links:  Garden City, Rockville CentreFive Towns and Long Beach


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