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iPad grab busted
Suffolk County Police arrested three individuals in connection with stealing 12 Apple iPads from Walmart on Crooked Hill Road in Commack on Aug. 25, 2014 at about 7:30 p.m. Police said a 20-year-old woman from Bay Shore, a 24-year-old man from Waterbury and a 32-year-old woman from Bellport were all charged with third-degree grand larceny. Each in the trio was arrested on different dates ranging from May 18 to June 27.

What a blow
A 23-year-old man from Kings Park was arrested in Smithtown on June 28 and charged with third-degree assault with intent to cause physical injury. Police said that on Nov. 16, 2014, at about 12:21 a.m., the man hit another man on the top of his head, causing a laceration. The incident happened on Pulaski Road in Kings Park. The victim had to go to St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown.

Get drunk, crash and flee
Suffolk County Police arrested a 66-year-old man from Nesconset on June 27 and charged him with driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident where there was property damage. Police said the man, who was driving a 2002 Jeep, struck a 2005 Jeep three times on Route 347 in Nesconset at 10:12 p.m. on June 27, causing damage. He then fled the scene without exchanging information, and was later stopped and charged with driving while intoxicated.

CVS shoplifted
Police arrested a 24-year-old man from Nesconset on June 25 and charged him with petit larceny. Police said the man stole merchandise — they couldn’t say exactly what — from a CVS on Middle Country Road in Centereach on May 15 at 5:44 p.m. He was arrested at his home on Truval Lane at about 6:30 p.m.

Back up and out
A 63-year-old woman from Kings Park was arrested at her home on Kohr Road for first-degree leaving the scene of an accident and failing to show license/identification. The woman was arrested on June 28 for an incident that occurred on June 18 at 4:35 p.m. Police said the woman, who was driving a 2010 Nissan, backed into a 2014 Lexus on Broadhollow Road in Melville and fled.

Busted with syringes
Police arrested a 23-year-old man from Northport on June 27 and charged him with possession of a hypodermic instrument. Police said the man possessed hypodermic syringes in his vehicle on Pulaski Road in Kings Park on June 27 at 12:26 p.m. He was arrested at the scene.

Shattered windows
Someone reported to police that windows were broken on a vacant building located on Maple Avenue in Smithtown sometime between June 2 and June 28. There are no arrests.

This trash is on fire
A garbage pail full of yard debris on Dewey Street in Port Jefferson Station was burned at some point between June 27 and June 28.

I spy punches
A 24-year-old man was arrested in front of Junior’s Spycoast bar on Main Street in Port Jefferson at around 2:30 a.m. and was charged with second-degree harassment after he pushed and attempted to punch a police officer.

Designer thief
Between June 25 at 6 p.m. and June 26 at 10:30 a.m. an unknown person took items, including a Michael Kors bag and money, from a Volkswagen and a Toyota parked on Jamaica Avenue in Port Jefferson.

Insta-threat
A Mount Sinai resident reported on June 26 that a high-school-aged girl threatened a male student over Instagram.

Full throttle
The front fender of a Harley-Davidson parked at a Pipe Stave Hollow Road residence in Mount Sinai was damaged at some point between June 22 and June 24.

Details
A 2014 Toyota’s paint was damaged while parked at a residence on Oakland Avenue in Miller Place on June 25 between 1 a.m. and 9 a.m.

Snooping
A North Country Road homeowner in Miller Place reported on June 24 that the panel of a back door was damaged and a person possibly went through items in their home.

Beach party gone wrong
A security guard at the beach off of Friendship Drive in Rocky Point was struck in the head by a bottle. According to police, at around 10:40 p.m. on June 24, the guard had asked a group of youths to leave the beach and the individuals started throwing bottles. The guard wasn’t injured and no arrests have been made.

Tired of this
A customer at a Centereach Goodyear Service Center was accused of harassment and causing public alarm after he entered the Middle Country Road business on June 28 and demanded his car be fixed. The man then pushed the complainant after being told he would have to wait.

Imperial Civil War
A 29-year-old man was arrested on Imperial Drive in Selden on June 24 after he went to a residence and ran up to the complainant, swinging his fists, and then wrestled the man to the ground. The man is charged with second-degree harassment.

No happy meal
Police said a group of teens damaged a fence in the parking lot of McDonald’s  on Nesconset Highway at Stony Brook. There are no arrests.

Money taken
Someone broke in through the side door of Dunkin’ Donuts on Main Street in Setauket-East Setauket and stole money, sometime between 11 p.m. and 3:30 a.m. from June 27 to June 28. There are no arrests.

Boat burglary
Someone entered a boat docked at Setauket Harbor and stole safety flairs and a toolbox, sometime between June 20 and June 28. There are no arrests.

Package stolen
Someone lifted a packaged delivered to a home on Old Town Road in Setauket-East Setauket sometime between June 26 and June 27. There are no arrests.

Car keyed
Police said someone keyed a 2008 Cadillac Escalade parked at Walmart on Nesconset Highway sometime between 7:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on June 25.

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The Suffolk County Police Department is seeking federal funds to purchase body cameras. File photo

While the Suffolk County Police Department has applied for federal funding to embed body cameras into its force, officials recognized that there is a long way to go in terms of establishing protocol and before officers start donning the devices.

In May, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a $20 million Body-Worn Camera Pilot Partnership Program, with $17 million going toward competitive grants to purchase the cameras, $2 million for training and technical assistance, and $1 million for the development of evaluation tools to study the best practices.

The pilot is part of President Barack Obama’s (D) proposal to invest $75 million over three years to purchase 50,000 body cameras for law enforcement agencies.

The program’s launch follows a series of high profile incidents, including the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., Eric Garner in Staten Island and Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Md., which raised questions of alleged police brutality.

“Body cameras and new technology will not be going away, and if it benefits the officers and citizens of Suffolk County, we are interested,” Deputy Chief Kevin Fallon said in a phone interview.

An Economist/YouGov poll published earlier this year stated that 88 percent of Americans support police officers wearing body cameras, and 56 percent strongly favor the idea, while only 8 percent oppose.

“This body-worn camera pilot program is a vital part of the Justice Department’s comprehensive efforts to equip law enforcement agencies throughout the country with the tools, support and training to tackle the 21st century challenges we face,” U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch said in a statement.

According to a camera implementation guide from the Justice Department, “by providing a video record of police activity, body-worn cameras have made their operations more transparent to the public, and have helped resolve questions following an encounter between officers and members of the public.”

While the program seeks to protect officers and citizens, Fallon said there are issues and concerns.

“This is more than simply about body cameras itself,” he said.

Suffolk County Chief of Support Services Stuart Cameron said one of the biggest issues is how to store the videos. Not only would archiving be expensive, the volume of high definition videos would be “tremendous.”

New protocols would also have to be established to determine how long a video is saved, and in what circumstances the video could be used.

The issue of privacy would need to be tackled before any body cameras go into action, as well.

“We don’t know if citizens would be OK with cameras filming in their house,” Fallon said.

In addition, police have to figure out how to handle sensitive cases dealing with witnesses and sexual assault victims, as their identities need to be protected.

The procedure of when to turn the camera off and on is not set in stone by the Justice Department. Rather, the grant program is intended to help identify the best practice for a body camera’s many uses, including when, and when not, to film.

“At what point does it become a privacy issue?” Cameron said. “Does a citizen’s right override protocol to continue filming?”

There are more than 2,700 different types of sworn officers in the SCPD, including plain-clothes officers, detectives and chiefs. The department would need to determine if every type of officer would wear a body camera.

Fallon and Cameron said the department would look at pilot programs across the country to see how they are handling the issues, and would also want to hear residents’ thoughts.

If a grant is received, community meetings will be held to educate the public.

Officers would have to be trained as well.

“Giving clear information to the officers is important,” said Fallon.

In 2012, a police department in Rialto, California partnered with the Institute of Criminology at the University of Cambridge, in England, and randomly assigned body-worn cameras to various officers across 988 shifts. The study showed a 60 percent reduction in officer use of force incidents.

The study also showed that shifts without cameras experience twice as many use of force incidents as shifts with cameras. There was an 88 percent reduction in citizen complaints between the year prior to camera implementation and the year following deployment.

In the county police’s application, the department had to establish an implementation plan and a training policy.  Fallon said he was unable to provide additional details.

Police forces can expect to hear if they’ve received the grant by Oct. 1, according to the Justice Department.

Joan LaRocca, a public affairs specialist for the department, said 50 law enforcement agencies, along with one training and one technical assistance provider, are expected to receive grants.

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File photo

A man robbed a bank in Centereach on Friday, and police are still looking for the culprit.

According to the Suffolk County Police Department, the suspect entered he Peoples United Bank on Middle Country Road at 11:30 a.m. that day and gave a teller a note demanding cash. After the teller complied, the man fled on foot.

Police described the suspect as being a white male with a heavy build between 45 and 50 years old, and about 5 feet 7 inches tall. At the time of the robbery, he was wearing a dark-colored baseball cap, a black T-shirt, dark jeans and sunglasses.

Detectives from the SCPD’s Pattern Crime Unit are investigating the robbery. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 800-220-TIPS. All calls will remain confidential.

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Ketan Shah photo from SCPD

Police arrested three people they allege were illegally selling fireworks with names like Saturn Missiles, Splendid Flower, Big Bad Bucket, Anaconda and Tornado Alley.

According to the Suffolk County Police Department, officers working off an anonymous tip on Saturday afternoon found about 65 boxes of fireworks — both on display with price tags in front of the store and in the back room — at the Card Smart on Route 112 in Port Jefferson Station, just south of Route 347.

The officers arrested the store’s owner, 46-year-old Hicksville resident Ketan Shah, as well as employees Vijaykumar Patel, a 30-year-old Elmhurst resident, and Nancy Sapienza, 65, of Ridge, charging all of them with unlawfully dealing with fireworks, which is a Class A misdemeanor.

Police said the employees were issued field appearance tickets while Shah was arraigned on Sunday.

Shah’s lawyer, Riverhead-based Richard Pellegrino, declined to comment on the case Monday morning, saying he was still investigating the case.

Attorney information for Patel and Sapienza was not available.

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Tracy Watkins photo from SCPD

After searching a Huntington Station home early Thursday morning and allegedly recovering weapons and drugs, police say a father and his two sons kept criminal activity in the family.

The Suffolk County Police Department arrested an alleged gang member, his brother and father on charges of criminal possession following the 6 a.m. search on 11th Avenue. Detectives and officers from various SCPD units, including the Narcotics Section, Criminal Intelligence Bureau, Emergency Service Section, Canine Section and the 2nd Precinct’s Special Operations Team, Gang Unit and Patrol Section jointly executed the search warrant on the residence. Police said they recovered a “loaded and defaced” Tec-9 semiautomatic handgun with a high-capacity magazine and quantities of crack cocaine and marijuana that have a combined street value of about $3,000.

Zachary Watkins Sr. photo from SCPD
Zachary Watkins Sr. photo from SCPD

Police said there were also two other loaded handguns, an imitation pistol, more than 500 rounds of ammunition, a bulletproof vest, digital scales, other drug packaging equipment and $3,700 in cash.

Brothers Tracy Watkins, 42, and Zachary Watkins Jr., 46, were charged with two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, fourth-degree criminal possession of marijuana and two counts of second-degree criminal use of drug paraphernalia. Their father, 75-year-old Zachary Watkins Sr., was charged with three counts of criminal possession of a firearm, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, fourth-degree criminal possession of marijuana and two counts of second-degree criminal use of drug paraphernalia.

Attorney information for the father and for Zachary Watkins Jr. was not immediately available. The eldest Watkins has a previous charge pending against him for unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle.

Zachary Watkins Jr. photo from SCPD
Zachary Watkins Jr. photo from SCPD

Tracy Watkins, who police said was a confirmed member of the South Side Posse gang, has previous charges against him for criminal possession of a controlled substance, for which the New York State court system’s online database lists him as representing himself. It was not immediately clear if he would also be representing himself on the new charges.

The trio was scheduled to be arraigned on Friday.

Police said Huntington Town code enforcement officers issued 32 violations to Zachary Watkins Sr. and are still investigating, to determine if the Huntington Station residence will be declared uninhabitable.

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‘Officer Drew’ is there for school students

Drew Fiorillo. File photo by Barbara Donlon
Officer Drew Fiorillo’s job is to help students in need. File photo
Officer Drew Fiorillo’s job is to help students in need. File photo

Suffolk County Police School Resource Officer Andrew Fiorillo has the unique job of patrolling hallways instead of streets in an effort to bridge the gap between youth and law enforcement.

The 14-year veteran has been working as a school resource officer with Huntington and South Huntington school districts for more than 10 years. And while he is a sworn law enforcement officer  “Officer Drew,” as he is called, protects and educates students in need.

“I love to speak to them as a mentor, not a police officer,” Fiorillo said in an interview at the 2nd Precinct headquarters in Huntington.

Prior to becoming a police officer in 2001, Fiorillo, a graduate of Queens College with a bachelor’s degree in teaching, was a New York City firefighter. When he got the call offering him a job as a police officer, he knew it was where he was meant to be, as he wanted to help make a difference.

Fiorillo said walking the hallways helps both he and the students get to know each other better. He spends his days walking and talking and helping students in need. The officer said there are many different challenges he faces on a daily basis, which include speaking with students about issues they may be having, giving presentations to forming relationships and ensuring the school environment remains a place where students feel safe to learn and teachers feel safe to teach. Each day is different, which makes it exciting for him, he said.

“I explain things, show how to correct things, obtain information and deliver it in a non-confrontational way,” Fiorillo said.

The officer spends his days in the schools and sometimes goes into classrooms and delivers presentations to the students. One of the presentations he gives is the zero-tolerance law for drinking alcohol under the age of 21. He helps students understand that they cannot operate a motor vehicle with any blood alcohol content if they are under 21.

Fiorillo said he lives by the motto, “no problems, only solutions,” and that is what he tells students when they are in need of advice or any kind of help. He also teaches students that character counts and to do the right thing when no one is watching.

Huntington Superintendent Jim Polansky spoke highly of the officer and said he has proven himself to be a resource for everyone around him.

Drew Fiorillo. File photo by Barbara Donlon
Drew Fiorillo. File photo by Barbara Donlon

“They know he is there for them and will go out of his way to help them,” Polansky said in an interview. “I can’t see anyone doing a better job than him.”

Many can attest to Fiorillo’s passion for helping students. Those who encounter him each day say he goes above and beyond his daily duties and is not only spotted in the schools, but also at community events.

Huntington High School Principal Carmela Leonardi said Fiorillo is very approachable and that students “flock to him.” She also said he has been a partner to the administration and helped create a great environment.

“The ultimate goal is to provide a safe learning environment where kids can learn and teachers can teach,” Fiorillo said.

The officer said he is very thankful and lucky to get the opportunity to work with the students, teachers and administrators, and he hopes to continue the path for a very long time.

“We have an opportunity as police officers to have a positive influence in young people’s lives, which will hopefully help them become better in life,” Fiorillo said.

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1-800-Checks
An Oakland Avenue florist in Port Jefferson Station reported on June 20 that a box of business checks had been stolen from their office.

Ripped from the headlines
Between June 17 at 10 p.m. and 10:30 a.m. on June 18, a person rummaged through a 1999 Pontiac on Piedmont Drive in Port Jefferson Station and damaged the vehicle headliner.

Chest bump
Police responded to a road rage incident on Route 347 in Port Jefferson Station on June 17 at about 11:20 a.m. According to police, a woman reported that a man’s car bumped mirrors with her own vehicle and he began cursing at her. The woman also said the man bumped her with his chest after the two exited their vehicles.

Taking advantage
Between June 18 and 19, two Port Jefferson vehicles on Vantage Court were robbed. At some point between 6 p.m. on June 18 and 6 p.m. on June 19, someone stole a laptop, prescription glasses, headphones, a car charger and an iPad charger from a 2010 Ford. On June 19 between midnight and 9 a.m., someone stole a wallet with cash from inside a 2015 Subaru.

Impatient
A St. Charles Hospital employee reported that a patient at the Port Jefferson hospital had slapped her on June 18.

The gravity of the situation
A 22-year-old Port Jefferson Station man was arrested at the local Long Island Rail Road station on June 19 for fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. Police said they were notified about a man with a knife and found a gravity knife in the man’s pocket.

Holey moly
Things were busy on Oakland Avenue in Miller Place last week, as police reported two separate incidents. On June 18, a resident reported that someone had made a small hole in their home’s front window and vinyl siding on June 18. Two days later, a person stole a GPS, a Blackberry and a bag from an unlocked 2007 Toyota.

Street smarts
Someone took a wallet containing cash and credit cards from a vehicle parked at Centereach High School on June 17.

Gassed up
A woman struck a man in the head and face at a Selden gas station on Middle Country Road on June 21 shortly after 4 p.m.

Buzzed
A man reported being assaulted by three males and one female at The Hive on Middle Country Road in Selden on June 17 at around 2:40 a.m. According to police, the man suffered from lacerations to his head and face and had a broken tooth. He was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital for treatment. No arrests have been made.

Suspended
A 24-year-old Selden man was arrested for third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle on June 20. According to police, the man was driving a 2008 Cadillac south on Dare Road in Selden when he was pulled over and police discovered his license had been suspended or revoked.

Found with drugs
Police arrested a 25-year-old Dix Hills man and charged him with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and fifth-degree criminal possession of marijuana. Police said the man was found with substances inside a 2002 Honda Civic at the corner of Straight Path and Burrs Lane in Dix Hills on June 19 at about 6:50 p.m.

Punched out
A 36-year-old Huntington Station man was arrested in Huntington on June 18 and charged with third-degree assault, with intent to cause physical injury. Police said on May 9 at about 12:10 a.m. he assaulted another man, punching him until he fell to the ground on New York Avenue. He continued to punch the person, who required treatment at Huntington Hospital. He was arrested at 6:09 p.m.

Parking lot DWI
A 77-year-old woman from East Northport was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 of 1 percent. Police said the woman struck another parked vehicle in a parking lot on Larkfield Road in East Northport on June 19 at 1:45 p.m. She was arrested at the scene.

Crash ‘n dash
Police arrested a 47-year-old woman from Centerport and charged her with leaving the scene of an accident where there was property damage. Police said the woman crashed a 2011 Toyota into a telephone pole in front of a home on Washington Avenue in Centerport on June 20 at 6:20 p.m., damaging the pole. She was arrested at the precinct at 1 p.m. on June 22.

Car keyed
A 2009 Honda Accord parked on Ridgecrest Street in Huntington was keyed sometime between 9:30 and 11 p.m. on June 22. There are no arrests.

Boat burglarized
Someone stole power tools out of a 2002 Catalina boat at Coneys Marina on New York Avenue in Huntington. The incident occurred sometime between 3:30 p.m. on June 21 and 10:30 a.m. on June 22.

Quad missing
A 2006 Suzuki quad was stolen from the yard of an Alsace Place home in East Northport on June 21 at 1 a.m. There are no arrests.

Jewelry stolen
Someone stole a bracelet from a home on Altessa Boulevard in Melville sometime between noon on May 23 and noon on June 13.

Punch it up
Police arrested a 21-year-old man from Deer Park at the 4th Precinct and charged him with third-degree assault with intent to cause physical injury. Police said the man punched somebody in the face several times on June 7 at 6 :05 p.m. on Portion Road in Ronkonkoma. He was arrested on June 19 at 9:54 a.m.

On a roll
A 44-year-old Nesconset woman was arrested at the 4th Precinct and charged with criminal mischief with intent to damage property. Police said she punctured the two rear passenger-side tires of a 2014 Kia Soul. She was arrested at about 7 p.m. on June 19, and police said the crime happened on Adrienne Lane in Hauppauge.

Phone jacking thwarted
Police arrested a 28-year-old Hauppauge man on June 19 and charged him with petit larceny. Police said he stole a cell phone from a Walmart on Veterans Memorial Highway in Islandia at 9:35 p.m. on June 7.

Rifle-happy
A 61-year-old Lake Ronkonkoma man was arrested at the 4th Precinct on June 18 at 8:30 a.m. and charged with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, possessing three or more firearms. Police said that the man possessed four semiautomatic rifles at his home on Oct. 30 at 7:30 p.m.

What a tool
Someone stole tools from an unlocked shed in the driveway of a Ridge Road home in Smithtown, sometime between June 20 and June 21. The tools included a saw, compressor, chain saw and floor jack.

Cards swiped
Someone entered an unlocked 2015 Grand Cherokee in the driveway of a home on Poplar Drive in Smithtown and removed several different credit and debit cards. The incident occurred between June 16 at 1 a.m. and June 17 at 3:20 p.m.

Door damaged
An unknown person shattered a storm door by unknown means at a Nesconset home on Marion Street sometime between June 17 and June 20. There are no arrests.

Window woes
Someone stole a 2012 Jeep plastic rear window from Smith Haven Jeep on Route 25 in Nesconset. The incident occurred between June 16 and June 18.

Hateful graffiti
Someone reported graffiti of a swastika on the boys’ bathroom wall at Kings Park High School on June 19 at 8:45 a.m. There are no arrests.

Pesky kids
A man told police an unknown object was thrown at his vehicle while he was driving a 2001 Ford Explorer southbound on Ashland Drive in Kings Park. The object damaged the door window. Police said it’s possible youth were involved. The incident occurred at 10:55 p.m. on June 18.

License-less
Suffolk County Police arrested a 20-year-old man from Central Islip in Stony Brook on June 19 and charged him with third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. Police said the man was driving a 1994 Honda westbound on Nesconset Highway with a suspended or revoked license. He was arrested at 11:30 p.m. at the scene

Snatched on the down Loews
Someone took a camera bag containing a camera, a Nintendo gaming system, games and a backpack from a 2007 Hummer parked at AMC Loews Stony Brook 17. The incident happened on June 17 between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Gadgets gone
Someone broke the passenger window of a Toyota pickup truck parked in a Nesconset Highway parking lot in Stony Brook and took a backpack, iPad mini, a GoPro camera and accessories. The incident occurred sometime between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on June 17.

Phoning it in
Police said a man concealed merchandise in his pocket and walked out of Walmart on Nesconset Highway in East Setauket with a charger and a cellphone screen protector on June 19 at about 5:10 p.m.

I see stolen underpants
A woman stole undergarments after entering a fitting room at Kohl’s on Nesconset Highway in East Setauket on June 18 at about 2:20 p.m. There are no arrests.

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Morizsan to be sentenced to 25 years

Suffolk County Police Officer Nicholas Guerrero is released from Stony Brook University Hospital and transported to a rehab center. File photo by Barbara Donlon

A Northport man pleaded guilty to assault and other charges after striking two Suffolk County police officers and critically injuring one of them before fleeing the scene in a stolen car last September.

Suffolk County District Attorney Tom Spota said that Chad Morizsan waived his right to appeal and will be sentenced to 25 years in state prison. He pleaded guilty to charges of assault, assault on a police officer, leaving the scene of an accident, grand larceny and more, according to a statement from Bob Clifford, spokesman for Spota.

Chad Morizsan. Photo from SCPD
Chad Morizsan. Photo from SCPD

Daniel Guttmann, who is listed in online court records as Morizsan’s attorney, didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment on Wednesday.

Morizsan was arrested in September of last year for running down two Suffolk County police officers following a traffic stop in Huntington. After speeding off, Morizsan stole gas, collided with another vehicle at the gas station and carjacked a 2005 Toyota Camry from an 87-year-old woman.

Nicholas Franzone, also a Northport resident, accompanied Morizsan in the car and is scheduled to appear in court before State Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho on July 14.

Officers Nicholas Guerrero and Heriberto Lugo attempted to pull over Morizsan and Franzone on September 22 for traveling in a stolen Ford Explorer in Huntington on Partridge Lane. Morizsan sped off, striking both police officers as they approached the vehicle, critically injuring Guerrero.

Guerrero was hospitalized with a severe head injury at Stony Brook University Hospital for more than three weeks. He was monitored in the neurosurgical intensive care unit. He has been with the police department for four years. Lugo, his partner, was treated and released.

Police arrested Morizsan and Franzone at a department store in Central Islip several hours after the hit and run, where the pair attempted to purchase a television with a stolen credit card belonging to the woman whose car they had hijacked.

Morizsan was held at the time on bail of $3 million cash or a $30 million bond; Franzone was held on bail of $150,000 cash or $450,000 bond.

Morizsan was charged with third-degree grand larceny for allegedly stealing the Ford Explorer from the Commack area, petit larceny for stealing the gas, leaving the scene of incident involving property damage and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. On top of that, Morizsan was also arrested on three open warrants for violation of probation and petit larceny.

Franzone was charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle for his alleged role in the carjacking incident, police said.

Ian Fitzgerald, of Central Islip, said Franzone had nothing to do with the hit-and-run.

“He was in the back seat of the car. He had nothing to do with Mr. Morizsan fleeing and injuring the officer … he had no control over the vehicle,” Fitzgerald had said in an interview last year.

 

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Marine Bureau officers rescued two teens from an overturned boat and brought them and the boat back to shore. Photo from SCPD

Police and a good Samaritan had to step in when a boat overturned in the Long Island Sound on Saturday, leaving two teens floating on the upside-down craft for more than an hour.

The good Samaritan located the 19-year-olds at about 11:30 a.m., when they had already been floating on the boat’s hull for roughly 90 minutes, the Suffolk County Police Department said. The person used a VHF radio to contact the department’s Marine Bureau and provide the boat’s location.

According to police, Smithtown residents Douglas Botto and Eric Damn were wearing life jackets after the 16-foot Hobie Cat catamaran they were sailing overturned on the Long Island Sound, between 2.5 to 3 miles north of the Nissequogue River. The waves in that area were 3 to 5 feet high, preventing the teens from righting the boat.

Police said Marine Bureau officers David Goldstein and Michael Cappiello aboard Marine Delta and officers Keith Walters and Paul Carnival aboard Marine Bravo responded to the scene and rescued the adrift pair, bringing them back to Long Beach in Smithtown and towing in the boat.

U.S. Coast Guard personnel were also on the scene, police said.

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File photo

Police say a man threatened officers with kitchen knives when they responded to a call in Huntington Station earlier this week.

When 2nd Precinct officers Joseph Reilly and Michael Lavrovsky responded to the domestic incident on East 20th Street Wednesday afternoon, the Suffolk County Police Department said, the suspect was holding a kitchen knife in each hand.

According to police, the man confronted Reilly and Lavrovsky, walking toward them threateningly and ignoring commands to drop the knives.

The officers subdued the suspect with a Taser, police said. He was transported to Huntington Hospital.

Detectives charged the man, 21-year-old Kevin Jaime of Huntington Station, with menacing a police officer and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Attorney information for the defendant was not available. He was scheduled to be arraigned at a later date.

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