Crimes Nearby: Health Aide Steals Rare Coins, Four Hit Cedarhurst Phone Store

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

A home health aide from Far Rockaway admitted in court on Wednesday after she tried to flee the country that she stole rare coins valued at more than $130,000 from an 82-year-old client, according to Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice.

Sonia Walsh, 44, pleaded guilty to the top count of grand larceny in the second degree in exchange for a promised sentence of 1 ¾ to 5 ¼ years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 1.

— Stephen Bronner



A Brooklyn man who donned a black ski mask was arrested on Tuesday after he allegedly attempted to rob his former employer in Cedarhurst with a BB gun, police said.

Charles Creekmur, 24, allegedly armed with a BB gun and wearing a black ski mask, approached the 59-year-old victim outside of Jerusalem Pizza and demanded money, according to police. Without taking any proceeds, Creekmur fled the scene on foot towards the back parking lot and disposed of his jacket, ski mask and BB gun.

Police shortly caught him inside a nearby grocery store. Creekmur was identified as a former employee of the victim, police said.

— Stephen Bronner 

Police have arrested four men for a string break-ins at phone stores across Nassau County from November 2010 through January 2011, according to officials.

According to police, the men, identified as Valon Vailes, 19, of Hempstead and Charles Siebert, 18, Kareem Edney, 19, and Trevon Thompson, 18, all of Freeport, were allegedly responsible for the theft of iPads and cell phones. The following are the stores the men allegedly stole from:

    1.    AT&T, 154 Fulton Avenue, Hempstead on 12/01/10
    2.    Verizon, 49 Old Country Road, Westbury on 1/3/11
    3.    AT&T, 1000 Sunrise Highway, Massapequa on 11/10/10
    4.    AT&T, 316 Rockaway Turnpike, Cedarhurst on 11/28/10
    5.    T-Mobile, 1073 Northern Boulevard, Flower Hill on 1/2/11

— Michael Ganci



A chlorine leak at HAFTR Elementary School on Sunday caused the evacuation of three employees, two of which were transported to the hospital for treatment, according to a Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department chief.

An employee opened a door in the pool area of the school on Sunday and was overwhelmed by a toxic plume, according to LCFD Second Deputy Chief Anthony Rivelli Jr. LCFD was notified of the leak at 11:48 a.m. Firefighters searched the building and evacuated the employees. Responders were at the scene for about three hours until the situation was brought under control.

— Stephen Bronner



A Freeport man was arrested on Thursday afternoon after allegedly fleeing from New York State Police and hitting another car on the Southern State Parkway in West Hempstead.

According to state police, at 12:41 p.m., a trooper attempted to stop an Acura for speeding at 94 mph in a 55 mph zone on the eastbound side of the Southern State Parkway near exit 17.

The Acura, which was being operated by Hamlet Pennicooke, 23, of Freeport, left the roadway, entered the shoulder to avoid traffic and exited the parkway at exit 17N, Hempstead Avenue, police said. Pennicooke allegedly fled to Lakeview, where he ran on foot to a wooded area, where police apprehended him.

— Matthew Hogan



The Rockville Centre village administrator thwarted a would-be burglar on his way home from a fireworks show on Saturday.

Frank Quigley confronted the man, who was attempting to break into a van in Field No. 23. Quigley confronted the man about what he was doing, and the subject fled. Quigley called the police while he chased the subject. Cops searched through several backyards and spotted the subject, who then ran from police.

Gregory P. Schroeder, 40, of Freeport, was arrested and charged with criminal mischief, attempted larceny, possession of burglar tools and criminal possession of a controlled substance. Schroeder is a parolee for burglary.

— Anthony Bottan



Police said an elderly couple were victims of an alleged larceny in Lynbrook early Saturday evening after a man sought entry into their home under the guise of fixing their roof.

According to detectives, a Hispanic man knocked on the door of their Peninsula Boulevard home and offered to perform a roof repair for $350. The couple told police they noticed two Hispanic females and a child sitting in the back of a black pick up truck. They agreed to the repair and offered for the people in the car to stay in their home to stay cool, police said.

The victims retrieved $350 from a container in which they keep cash, replaced the lid and placed it in the sink. They paid the man and were said they were momentarily distracted when he asked to use the restroom. According to police, when the subjects left the house, the victims noticed the container was on the countertop and the remaining cash was missing.

— Jaime Sumersille

Arrests

• William Ferrari, 49, of Long Beach was arrested and charged with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon with a previous conviction and second-degree reckless endangerment on East Hudson Street on July 1.
• Kareem Nowell, 30, of Long Beach was arrested and charged with third-degree criminal sale of a narcotic drug and third-degree criminal possession of a narcotic drug with intent to sell at West Broadway on July 1.
• Phillip Davis, 43, of Long Beach was arrested and charged with criminal sale and possession of a narcotic drug with intent to sell, criminal sale of a controlled substance on school grounds, and criminal sale and possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell at Louisiana Street on June 30.

DWI

• Louis Calles, 20, of Elizabethport, N.J., was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, reckless endangerment and speeding at West Olive Street and October walk on July 4.
• Richard J. Ingordo Jr., 40, of East Atlantic Beach was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, speeding, and operating a motor vehicle without an inspection certificate on West Park Avenue on July 4.
• Francis Hall, 21, of Lynbrook was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated at Lido Boulevard and Regent Drive in Lido Beach on July 10.
• Michael Piscatelli, 33, of Massapequa was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated on Lido Boulevard in Lido Beach on June 26.