Crime & Safety

Crimes Nearby: Man Accused of Rape, Murder in Riverhead

Patch reports on crime in the Long Island community.

The following was taken from the Nassau and Suffolk Police Departments. An arrest does not indicate a conviction as all persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

A man has been charged with murder after Mirian Garcia, 29, was found dead last week behind the Department of Motor Vehicles in Riverhead allegedly strangled her with a belt after raping her.

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Suffolk County homicide detectives arrested Guillermo Alfonso Alvarado-Ajcuc, 21, of Riverhead in the killing.

Massapequa School Custodian Accused of Assault

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A custodian for the assaulted two district administrators after they confronted him about making threats over a portable radio system Friday, Nassau Police said.

Angelo Tenace, 51, of Shirley, was working at the Hawthorne School facility, which is owned by the school district but is currently being used as the Nassau County Police Academy, when he allegedly broadcast his threats over a frequency used by the district.

The custodian was angry that someone had taken his picture while he was asleep and he said, over the radio, he was "going to get whoever did it," according to a police source.

When two Massapequa school administrators came to the Academy at about 4:15 p.m. to confront him, Tenace became angry and waved a lit cigarette in one of their faces. He is accused of punching one of them in the face.

Police arrested Tenace and said he was carrying two switchblades on him.

He was charged with assault, menacing and weapons possession.

A Boston University student from Massapequa has been charged in a New Zealand crash that took the lives of three of his fellow students, it was reported Friday.

Stephen Houseman, 20, has been charged with careless driving causing the deaths of Nicholas Jauberty, 21, a California native who lived in Paris,  Daniela Lekhno, 20, of Manalapan, N.J. and Austin Brashears, 21 of Huntington Beach, Calif., according to the New Zealand Herald.

Authorities said they believe Houseman  over-corrected after drifting onto gravel on the left side of the road, according to the paper.

"We have ruled out any use of drugs or alcohol by any of the young people involved, including the driver," said Kevin Taylor a New Zealand police inspector.

Arson squads and the Nassau County Fire Marshal are currently investigating a suspicious car fire in Syosset, according to the .

The fire department responded to scene on Church Street at about 11:30 p.m. Friday to find a red sedan fully engulfed in flames in the driveway.

"It's suspicious because the car didn't have any plates, the tires were flat and it looked like it hadn't moved in a long time," which is why the arson squad and fire marshal were called to investigate, according to Syosset Fire Chief Robert Kaplan.

Surrounding homes were not damaged by the fire.

Garden City Police Investigate Sweepstakes Scam

The Garden City Police Department is investigating a report on May 15 of an apparent scam where a person claiming to be from a sweepstakes network called a resident stating that she had just won a sweepstakes prize of $350,000 and to cover delivery insurance costs, she would have to send a check of more than $1,000 to claim the prize. The department urges all residents to be very wary of these types of scams.


A Queens insulation company pleaded guilty to cheating workers out of more than $30,000 for work performed at the Wheatley High School in Old Westbury.

Maspeth-based New York Insulation LLC will pay restitution in the amount of $33,408 in back wages and $11,500 in fines to Nassau County. In the summer of 2009, New York Insulation was contracted to perform insulation work on the rooftop HVAC system of Wheatley High School.

As a public works project, New York Insulation is required by law to pay its workers the state prevailing wage.

The  Labor Unit’s investigation revealed that of the six employees who manned the job, only two were listed on the certified payroll records filed with the East Williston Union Free School District. In addition, the two employees listed were not paid the required overtime rate. The remaining four workers were grossly underpaid for both the straight and overtime compensation.

A West Babylon pizzeria owner was arrested on Tuesday and charged with selling illegal prescription pills out of his restaurant, Suffolk County Police said.

Francesco Miceli, 50, of Rockville Center and owner of Miceli Brothers Pizzeria and Restaurant, is charged by police with seven counts of Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance 3rd Degree, a Class B Felony; one count of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 3rd Degree, a class B Felony; and one count of Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance 4th Degree, a class C Felony.

Nassau County Police talked a Seaford man out of a hostage situation after he barricaded himself in his home with his 12-year-old son inside.

The father, Steven Esposito, 42, was taken to a local hospital for evaluation and then arrested. Esposito is charged with third-degree menacing and endangering the welfare of a child.


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