Crime Nearby: Huntington Man Stabbed to Death

Some of the crimes and arrests reported in other Long Island communities this past week.

Huntington

A Huntington man was arrested and charged Saturday in the fatal stabbing of his stepfather, Suffolk County police said.

Matthew Hubrins, 28, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of Noel Mohammed, 44.

Police were called to 161 Spring Road, Huntington, at 1:20 a.m. Saturday morning after a caller reported a disturbance to police. Mohammed, who lived in the home, was taken to Huntington Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later, according to police.

Babylon

A statue in the Vision of Hope Garden was stolen from its base at Town Hall Park sometime in late May or early June, according to representatives from the Babylon Breast Cancer Coalition, and are asking for the public's help to find the statue.

The statue, titled "The Spirit of Hope" by sculptor Eileen Barry, was created in 1995 for the garden at .

"The Spirit of Hope" featured a woman in a flowing dress, arms reaching to the sky and on her tip-toes. The statue was prominently featured in the center of the garden, which features a brick layout in the shape of a breast cancer awareness ribbon.

Mattituck

Following a call from another car driver, a Greenport man was arrested Thursday night by Southold Police after they said he was driving under the influence of drugs on Route 25 in Mattituck. According to Southold Police, a motorist called police around 7:30 p.m. to report an erratic driver, heading westbound on the road while crossing over into the eastbound lane.

Southold Police responded and reported witnessing the driver, 48-year-old Kenneth T. Finne, cross over the double line. Police said he was found to be impaired by drugs.He was arrested on charges of DWAI drugs.

Long Beach

Police are offering a reward up to $5,000 to those who can help identify two female suspects wanted for grand larceny in the city.

According to Long Beach and Nassau County police, a woman’s handbag, which held her wallet, credit cards and iPhone, was taken from at about 5 p.m. on May 11. The two females captured in the surveillance photos that accompany this story are wanted in connection with this crime.  

Crime Stoppers is asking anyone who can identify these subjects, or with any information about this crime, to call their toll free hotline: 1-800-244-TIPS (8477). All calls will be kept confidential.

Eastmeadow

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced Monday that a Brentwood man has pleaded guilty to driving drunk and killing two men in an April 2011 crash on the Wantagh State Parkway in East Meadow.

Oscar Ramirez, 30, pleaded guilty last Friday to aggravated vehicular homicide, two counts of manslaughter in the second degree and driving while intoxicated. A judge agreed to sentence Ramirez to five to 15 years in prison in exchange for his plea.

Rice said that at approximately 4:50 a.m. on April 30, 2011, Ramirez was driving a Ford Windstar minivan north on the Wantagh State Parkway when he side-swiped a Kia sedan just south of Hempstead Turnpike in East Meadow.

The Kia, containing driver Larry Scuteri, 49, of West Islip, and passenger Daniel Gambardella, 46, of North Babylon, was pushed onto the east shoulder of the parkway and across the grass. The Kia then became airborne and struck a tree, killing Scuteri and Gambardella instantly, Rice said.

Ramirez, who is in the country illegally and has no driver's license, admitted that he drank nine beers that night and had a blood-alcohol content of .10 percent more than two hours after the crash, according to Rice.

Ramirez is due back in court July 26.

Mineola

Two masked men made off with an unknown amount of money from the  on Jericho Turnpike in Mineola Saturday morning. According to , the two men entered the bank at about 11:24 a.m. on Saturday morning wearing masks, gloves and hooded sweat shirts and  ordered all the employees to the ground. One man climbed over the teller counter and removed the money inside. They fled on foot out to the parking lot that exits onto Andrews Road.  There were no injuries reported. At the time of the robbery there were five employees in the bank, no customers.

Williston Park

A man charged with trying to ship a kilogram of cocaine across the country to himself in a television box was convicted last week.

David Kappen, 35, was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first and third degrees and faces 12 to 24 years in prison. He is scheduled for sentencing on July 26.

According to  Kathleen Rice, on Aug. 3, 2010, Kappen and co-defendant Trent Singleton shipped a television box containing a kilogram of cocaine from a UPS store in Rancho Cucamunga, Calif. to an Auto Spa in Williston Park.

Local police in the UPS store grew suspicious that the defendants were shipping a 27-inch flatscreen television across the country and notified the Nassau County Police Department.

When the package arrived in Williston Park on Aug. 5, members of the narcotics team began surveillance around the Auto Spa, observing that a third co-defendant, Jamie Denton, placed the package into Singleton’s rental car at 11:40 a.m.

Singleton then left the Auto Spa in his car with Kappen following and later joined him in his vehicle, fleeng when officers attempted to pull them over. Singleton allegedly rammed a police vehicle during the pursuit. Both men were caught on foot shortly thereafter.

Singleton pleaded guilty to fifth degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison in December 2011. Denton, who was arrested on Aug. 6, 2010, pleaded guilty to fourth degree criminal facilitation in June 2011.

Massapequa

A man who said he would help a lost woman instead exposed himself, setting off a manhunt in Massapequa Sunday night, police said.

The woman was driving east on Merrick Road when she stopped a man walking near Forest Avenue at 11:40 p.m. She stopped to ask him for directions to the Long Island Expressway.

The man told her that he could show her how to get there and got in the back seat of her car. She began driving but when she looked into the rear view mirror and saw the man pulling down his shorts and exposing himself, police said.When she pulled over, the man grabbed her by the neck, but she was able to scream and honk the car horn. Someone in the neighborhood heard the horn, causing the man to get out of the car and flee south on Ocean. The woman wasn't hurt.

A manhunt using police aviation, and dogs, as well as officers on foot, did not turn up the man who is described as a white man about 6-feet tall and 180 pounds. He was wearing a red shirt and a red baseball cap.

Massapequa

An Amityville man who shot at a 30-year-old Massapequa in a road rage incident has been arrested, Suffolk County police said Sunday.

William Brown, 28, has been charged with reckless endangerment and weapons possession in connection with a confrontation outside the Dunkin Donuts at 355 Broadway in Amityville Saturday morning. Brown had been involved in an argument with the Massapequa man over a parking spot. Afterwards, the victim drove away north on Broadway. Brown allegedly followed him and fired a shot at the victim's 2007 Chevrolet Express van. The shot struck the front wheel as the victim was going over the Sunrise Highway overpass. 

The Massapequa man and his 21-year-old passenger were not struck or hurt.