Tags Posts tagged with "Hawkins Avenue"

Hawkins Avenue

Paul Sommer mugshot. Photo from SCPD

A Mastic man in possession of drugs, who allegedly intentionally struck three police vehicles injuring a detective May 23, was arrested in Centereach.

Paul Sommer was sitting in his vehicle, parked in the Wendy’s parking lot at 2278 Middle Country Road in Centereach, when he was approached by 4th Precinct detectives and police officers who believed he was engaged in a drug transaction at approximately 2:30 p.m. Detectives identified themselves and Sommer attempted to flee, rammed a police vehicle and struck a detective. The detective, who was outside of his vehicle when he was struck, was transported to a local hospital where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Sommer fled from the parking lot, and a short time later, he intentionally crashed into two police vehicles at the intersection of Hawkins Avenue and Nicholls Road in Centereach where he was taken into custody.

Fourth Squad detectives charged Sommer, 22, with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, fourth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, second-degree assault, three counts of third-degree criminal mischief, first-degree reckless endangerment, two counts of second-degree reckless endangerment and resisting arrest.

Sommer was held at the 4th Precinct and was scheduled to be arraigned at 1st District Court in Central Islip.

File photo

A man was violently robbed and thrown out of a moving car earlier this month, and police have recently arrested three suspects in the case.

While at a bar on Hawkins Avenue in Ronkonkoma on May 6, three men allegedly offered a ride to the victim shortly before 4 a.m., the Suffolk County Police Department said.

They headed north into Lake Grove but during the ride, police said, the trio punched and choked the man, then stole his jewelry, wallet, cell phone and cash before throwing him out of the moving car.

The victim was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at Stony Brook University Hospital, police said.

A few weeks later, detectives arrested three local men in connection with the crime, on three separate days: 36-year-old Jason Mikalauskas, of Lake Grove, on May 23; 21-year-old Michael Masterson, of Centereach, on May 24; and 23-year-old Dominic Dentici, of Ronkonkoma, on May 26.

All three were charged with second-degree robbery, and Mikalauskas is facing additional charges of fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was also arrested on an active warrant, police said.

Attorney information for Mikalauskas and Dentici was not available on the New York State court system’s online database. Masterson was listed as representing himself and could not be reached for comment.

File photo

Update, Oct. 5, 10:15 a.m.: Police identified the deceased woman found in a Lake Grove home last week as 42-year-old Tricia Odierna.

A woman found dead in Lake Grove on Thursday afternoon was killed, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.

The case began when patrol officers responded to a 911 call at 1:50 p.m., entering a house on Win Place, off of Hawkins Avenue. Police said the officers found a dead woman inside.

Authorities had not released the woman’s identity by Friday morning.

According to police, the woman’s death is believed to have a criminal cause.

Detectives from the SCPD’s Homicide Squad are investigating the incident. Anyone with information is asked to call them at 631-852-6392, or to call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 800-220-TIPS.

Stephen Ruth mugshot from the SCPD

Police arrested a Centereach man on Tuesday afternoon who they say used a pole to turn red light cameras away from the road and potential violators.

According to the Suffolk County Police Department, the suspect used an expandable pole to tamper with the cameras, pushing the lenses toward the sky. Officers from the SCPD’s 6th Precinct Crime Section received anonymous tips regarding a video post on social media that allegedly shows 42-year-old Stephen Ruth tampering with several of the cameras in Ronkonkoma, including one on Ocean Avenue at the Long Island Expressway’s south service road on both Aug. 21 and Aug. 24. Shortly before being arrested on Tuesday afternoon, he also allegedly tampered with two other cameras on that same service road, at the intersection with Hawkins Avenue.

After an investigation, officers arrested Ruth at his home on Stewart Circle.

He was charged with four counts of third-degree criminal tampering and four counts of second-degree obstruction of governmental administration.

Attorney information for Ruth was not immediately available on Wednesday.

The red light cameras, which are maintained by Baltimore-based Affiliated Computer Services Incorporated, take photographs at busy intersections throughout Suffolk County, recording license plates of vehicles whose drivers run through a red light or do not come to a complete stop before making a right turn on a red signal. The company reviews the photos snapped — and gets final approval from the county — and for each confirmed violation, the registered owner of the vehicle receives a $50 traffic citation.

Suffolk’s red light camera program began in summer 2010, and signs alert approaching drivers at every intersection where there is a camera.

Unlike other moving violations, red light camera violations do not add points to a driver’s license, as the cameras only record rear license plates and cannot confirm the driver of a violating vehicle.