Tags Posts tagged with "Jose Benitez"

Jose Benitez

Danny Bonilla Zavala, 19, of Selden, was charged with driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in injury or death. Photo from SCPD

Suffolk County Police have arrested 19-year-old Danny Bonilla Zavala for driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene after a man was killed in a Port Jefferson Station motor vehicle crash on Aug. 21.

Bob Hidalgo was driving a 2011 Toyota Corolla southbound on Route 112 near Sagamore Hills Drive when his vehicle was struck by a 1995 Nissan Maxima traveling southbound on Route 112 at 5:10 p.m. Bonilla Zavala, the driver of the Maxima, of Selden, fled on foot and was apprehended a short time later by Sixth Precinct Police Officer Matthew Cameron.

Hidalgo, 31, of Coram, was pronounced dead at the scene by a physician’s assistant from the Office of the Suffolk County Medical Examiner. His wife, Taisha Hidalgo, 30, was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.

Bonilla Zavala was transported to John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in Port Jefferson for treatment of minor injuries he sustained in the crash. Major Case Unit detectives charged Bonilla Zavala with driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident resulting in injury or death. Bonilla Zavala was held at the Sixth Precinct and is scheduled for arraignment at First District Court in Central Islip today.

The vehicles were impounded for safety checks and the investigation is continuing. Anyone with information on the crash is asked to contact Major Case Unit detectives at 631-852-6555.

This version correctly identifies Danny Bonilla Zavala, who was arrested and charged with a DWI and leaving the scene of an accident. He initially misidentified himself to police. Additional charges are pending.

Jose Benitez mugshot from SCPD

A man who officers approached for drinking an open container of alcohol ended up being a pattern commercial burglar, the Suffolk County Police Department said.

Police allege Jose Benitez, 34, committed five burglaries in Huntington Station in late March, all of them on New York Avenue in the early hours of the morning.

The burglarized businesses include Best for Less, near East 13th Street, on March 17; Variedades Belen, near East 12th Street, between March 20 and March 21; Sunny’s Discount, near West 4th Street, on March 21; Checkers restaurant, at East 14th Street, on March 23; and Promesas Christian Book Store, at West 4th Street, on March 23.

Shortly after 5 a.m. on Thursday, 2nd Precinct patrolling officers Michael Buscarino and Vincent Dilluvio saw a man with an open alcohol container on New York Avenue near West Hills Road, police said, and the man gave them a false name. They brought him to the precinct and, after detectives further investigated, charged the Huntington Station resident with the five burglaries.

Benitez faces five counts of third-degree burglary and one count of false personation, and he was issued a summons for the open alcoholic beverage.

Attorney information for Benitez was not immediately available. According to the New York State court system’s online database, the suspect has a previous charge pending against him, for second-degree menacing with a weapon, and was listed as representing himself on that charge. Police held Benitez overnight, with his arraignment scheduled for Friday, and he could not be reached for comment.