Teen charged in string of Nassau robberies
December 2, 2009
By JOHN VALENTI
He is just 17.
But police said Jose Morales was a busy man in October and November, committing or trying to commit at least six robberies during a crime spree through Westbury, Hempstead and New Cassel.
That spree began Oct. 6, Nassau County police said, when Morales, of 32 Longfellow Ave., Westbury, stole a Sony PlayStation video game from an acquaintance on Mason Street in Hempstead. It ended with his arrest by Freeport police Tuesday at 2:33 p.m. at the Long Island Rail Road station in Freeport after he was identified by one of the victims, police said.
Morales was charged with three counts of first-degree robbery and first-degree attempted robbery, two counts of second-degree robbery and petty larceny. He is scheduled for arraignment Wednesday in First District Court, Hempstead.
Police said that after stealing the PlayStation, Morales robbed a taxi driver of cash and, after punching the driver in the head "several times," fled the scene on foot. That was Oct. 11 at 3 p.m. on Old Country Road in Westbury.
Next was the attempted knifepoint robbery of a cab driver at 7:33 p.m. on Nov. 7 on Irving Street and Longfellow Avenue in Westbury. Police said Morales fled with "no proceeds."
The next night, about 8, police said Morales committed a knifepoint robbery of a taxi driver on Main Street in Hempstead. He fled with cash.
On Nov. 16, police said Morales and another assailant who has not yet been apprehended robbed a pedestrian at knifepoint on Dryden Street in New Cassel at 5:15 p.m.
The victim had an abrasion to his throat, police said.
The last known robbery by Morales, police said, came on Nov. 27, when police said he and an accomplice committed the knifepoint robbery of a taxi cab driver on Whittier Avenue in New Cassel at 2:30 p.m.
The accomplice has not yet been apprehended.
Police are asking anyone who may have information regarding the robberies or other crimes committed by Morales to contact the Third Squad at 516-573-6353. All calls will remain confidential, police said.
Posted Wednesday, December 2, 2009
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