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Crime & Safety

Crimes Nearby: Two Shootings, Assault in Long Beach

A rundown of the past week's police & fire stories on neighboring Patch sites.

Nassau County Police are investigating a shooting that occurred early Friday in West Hempstead and left two people injured.

According to detectives, police officers responded to 119 Woodfield Road around 4:05 a.m. for the report of shots fired. Shortly after, police were notified that two male victims, ages 33 and 23, were at different hospitals with gun shot wounds to their legs. The injuries are considered non-life threatening. The investigation is ongoing.

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The incident, which is being dubbed a "Reckless Endangerment," happened near the West Hempstead-Hempstead border, just steps away from where  took place.

Police Arrest Man for BWI, Look for Missing Boater

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A homeless man who was arrested on Thursday for allegedly operating a boat while intoxicated told officers that the owner of the vessel had fallen overboard somewhere in the Rockaway Inlet, according to police.

At about 4 p.m., Janusz Sowa, 54, was seen operating a 1990 26-foot Bayliner in the vicinity of the Crow’s Nest Marina in Oceanside, police said. Sowa reported that he and the owner of the vessel, Stanislaw Nawrocki, of Queens, went out on the vessel earlier in the day and that Nawrocki had fallen overboard somewhere in vicinity of Rockaway Inlet. (See attached document)

The Nassau County Marine Bureau, Town of Hempstead Bay Constables, N.Y.P.D. Harbor Unit, U.S. Coast Guard Station Jones Beach and the Nassau County Aviation Unit have been assisting in the search for the missing boater.

Sowa is charged with operation of a vessel while under the influence of alcohol.

The driver of a Mustang slammed into a fence that runs alongside the Long Island Railroad tracks in West Hempstead early Thursday after allegedly trying to flee from police.

The pursuit started on the Southern State Parkway after the driver reportedly failed to stop for a New York State Trooper. He then allegedly tried to escape the police by exiting the parkway and cutting around a few residential streets in West Hempstead.

But the chase came to an abrupt end around 1:20 a.m. on Mulberry Lane, a dead end.

The driver then attempted to back up and rammed into a patrol car. Numerous other New York State Troopers and Nassau County Police responded to the scene, and the  was called in to attend to the injured.

The driver of the Mustang — a white male who appeared to be in his late 30s or early 40s — sustained traumatic injuries from the crash. His face and chest were covered in blood, but he was stable as Lakeview firefighters transported him to Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre.

Lakeview also treated two NYS Troopers for lacerations. Both were taken to Mercy as well, one via a Lakeview ambulance and the other by way of a NYS Troopers vehicle.

It's not known at this time if any charges were filed.

Oceanside Man Arrested for Burglary

Police arrested an Oceanside man on Wednesday after he allegedly broke into a home and took assorted jewelry and electronic equipment, according to police.

Robert Decker, 52, is charged with burglary in the second degree.

According to police, Decker forcibly entered a Fifth Street residence in Oceanside on Friday, June 8, sometime in the evening. The Fourth Squad arrested Decker after a detailed investigation.

Police: Stabbed Oceanside Man Sets Attacker's House on Fire

An Oceanside man who had been stabbed with a kitchen knife set the house where he and his attacker live on fire, police said.

After an altercation, Howard Brigham, 57, allegedly stabbed Suave Pereira, 18, numerous times, police said. Pereira transported himself to a local hospital, where he was treated for lacerations to his face, arm, hip and hand.

At about 4:20 a.m. on Tuesday, Pereira allegedly purchased a cigarette lighter and gasoline, poured the gas onto the rear of the home where he and Brigham live, and ignited it. Several residents extinguished the fire.

After an investigation, Pereira was located and arrested at 6:15 am in Franklin Square, police said. He is being charged with second-degree arson. 

Brigham is charged with second-degree assault and possession of a dangerous weapon in the fourth degree.

A 22-year-old man was shot in the leg Tuesday afternoon on North Centre Avenue in Rockville Centre, and the suspect in the shooting is still on the run, officials said.

According to Village Spokesman Jeff Kluewer, the man was shot on the west side of North Centre Avenue midway between Old Mill Court and Maine Avenue around 2:15 p.m.

Kluewer said the victim was transported to South Nassau Communities Hospital and was in stable condition with non life-threatening injuries.

The Nassau County Police Department canine unit and helicopter services canvassed the area, but the suspect was not caught.

A 49-year-old Freeport man fatally shot himself inside his SUV last Thursday night while parked on the corner of Sunrise Highway near North Forest Avenue, police said.

According to Rockville Centre Police, at 6:10 p.m. on Aug. 2, a Freeport resident committed suicide in his Hummer parked on the eastbound side of Sunrise Highway near the corner of North Forest Avenue.

Sunrise Highway was closed for several hours as village police and Nassau County officials investigated the scene.

Nassau County Public Information officers said they do not release details of suicide cases or the name of the victim.

Four Queens men were charged with the gang assault and robbery of a woman in Long Beach last weekend. 

The  received a call at 5:16 a.m. on Aug. 4 for a “large fight” at West Broadway near Laurelton Boulevard, and when officers arrived they found a victim at the scene and four suspects running east on the boardwalk, according to Sgt. Eric Cregeen, the department’s public information officer. 

Neville Cameron, 23, Orain Knight, 20, and Rushkie Booth, 17, all of Cambria Heights, and O’Neil David, 18, of Rosedale, were arrested and charged with assault and robbery at about 5:36 a.m., Cregeen said.   

The victim, a 21-year-old Long Beach woman, was accompanied by an unidentified male walking on West Broadway at Laurelton Boulevard when they were approached by the four suspects and a fight ensued, said Cregeen, who noted that the woman didn’t communicate to police the cause of the fight.

The woman suffered abrasions to her knees and elbows, a lacerated lip and a fractured cheekbone, and was transported to Long Beach Medical Center for treatment.

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