Crimes Nearby: Dozen Robbed in Cedarhurst, Long Beach Cop Charged With Having Stolen Gun

The following information was supplied by the Nassau County, Long Beach and Rockville Centre police departments. A criminal charge is only an accusation, and does not indicate convictions.

A group of men broke into a residence in Cedarhurst early Friday morning and held up 12 people, forcing them to lie on the floor at gunpoint while robbing them, according to police.

At approximately 1:15 a.m., four or five black males wearing bandanas over their faces forcibly entered the home, police said.

According to police, two of the subjects displayed handguns. The men ordered the one female and 11 male victims to lay on the floor while they went through pockets and took cell phones, jewelry and an unknown amount of cash. More money and jewelry was removed from two safes belonging to the residents.

A retired Hempstead Police Department detective and Long Beach resident has been charged in an nine-count indictment with possession of a stolen handgun, perjury and lying on police paperwork after police discovered unregistered handguns in his home, including one that had been stolen from the Hempstead PD, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced Tuesday.

Rice said that in March of this year, William Fowlkes, 47, was arrested in Suffolk County and charged with physically abusing his wife, an inspector with the New York Police Department. Pursuant to that arrest, an order of protection was issued to Fowlkes, in part directing him to turn over any and all firearms that he owned.

According to the district attorney, Nassau County Police recovered four unregistered handguns from his residence. Fowlkes was eventually convicted upon his plea to a misdemeanor count in the Suffolk County case.

Arrests

• James Johnson, 28, of Long Beach was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated at Pettit Place in Island Park.
• George Lopez Jr., 47, of East Hudson Street was arrested and charged with criminal possession of a knife, menacing and aggravated harassment contact due to religion-race on East Hudson Street on July 7.
• David Castellon, 31, of Long Beach was arrested and charged with criminal possession of a knife and menacing at Shore Road on July 8.
• Stanislav Shumeikin, 26, of Island Park was arrested and charged with falsifying business records and petit larceny at East Park Avenue on July 8.
• Maria F. DeRafael, 64, of Sunnyside, was arrested on July 9 and charged with second-degree obstructing governmental administration and peddling without a license after she was observed by police officers selling glow necklaces and other toys near South Park Avenue during the RVC Anniversary Fireworks Celebration.
• Joseph Campbell, 44, of Atlantic Beach was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident with property damage at West Park Avenue and Virginia Avenue on July 14.
• David Shafer, 45, of Oceanside was arrested and charged with driving while impaired by drugs at East Broadway and Riverside Boulevard on July 15.
• Juan Rodriguez, 58, of Middle Island was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated and driving without a license at Long Beach Boulevard and East Beech Street on July 16.
• Kevin Tynan, 31, of Garden City was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated and failure to obey a traffic device on Long Beach Boulevard and East Market Street on July 17.
• Stephen Ramsundar, 48, and Jennie Ramsundar, 47, both of Ozone Park, were arrested on July 14 and charged with shoplifting Aleve tablets, micro sculpting cream and CoQ10 tablets at in North Lawrence.

Illegal Alcohol Sales

• Police officers reportedly observed two men working at separate stores on Meacham Avenue in Elmont sell alcoholic beverages to underage customers on July 13. Cops say they saw Dimitri Cochran, of Brentwood, while working at the USA Gas Mini Mart, and Jose Ramos, of Queens, an employee at Eze’s Deli, each sell a single can of Coors Light to an underaged person.
• While working at Elmont Wine and Liquor on Hempstead Turnpike, Thomas Jaimon, of Queens, was charged with after hours sale of alcoholic beverage. After receiving complaints from community members who said the store was selling liquor past the operating hours allowed by Nassau County (8 p.m.), officers paid a visit on July 13. They observed the store conduct multiple transactions between 8:45 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. During this time, an officer entered the store and purchased one half pint of Jack Daniels.

Other crimes

• A resident of Arbuckle Avenue in Woodmere reported to police that they were the victim of identity theft from April 17 to 28 when multiple fraudulent purchases were made to their American Express credit card.
• A handbag, wallet, sunglasses, credit cards, a health insurance card, New York State driver’s license and $85 were taken from a vehicle that was parked in the driveway of a residence on East End in Woodmere, a complainant reported to police on July 13.
• An unknown person(s) broke a window at a location on West Broadway in Hewlett with a rock, a complainant reported to police on July 13.
• An iPod and GPS unit were removed from a vehicle that was parked on Pine Street in Woodmere, a complainant reported to police on July 14.
• An unknown person(s) broke the rear window of a vehicle that was parked on Cumberland Place in Lawrence, a complainant reported to police on July 14.
• An unknown person(s) threw a rock through the rear window of a vehicle that was parked on Peninsula Boulevard in Hewlett, a complainant reported to police on July 15.
• An unknown person(s) threw a ceramic pot at a vehicle that on Cedar Avenue in Hewlett Bay Park, a complainant reported to police on July 16.