A 21-year-old man who allegedly stole a car last week in Hampton Bays and led police on a short chase before jumping from the vehicle while it was still moving, leaving it to crash in a creek in Shinnecock Hills, was arrested on Monday by Southampton Town Police.
Authorities have charged Carlos Garcia of Hampton Bays with third-degree grand larceny and third-degree burglary, both felonies, following an investigation, according to a press release.
Police did not say where Mr. Garcia was arrested, where he had been hiding or what led them to him.
Authorities said Mr. Garcia stole a car from Union Street in Hampton Bays at 8:22 p.m. last Thursday, March 28, and was spotted a short time later by Stony Brook Southampton police officers near the Shinnecock Hills campus. After leading police on a brief chase, he jumped from the car while it was still moving, near the intersection of Middle Pond Road and Dellaria Avenue, and then fled the scene on foot.
Multiple police agencies, including K-9 units, assisted with the ensuing search but the driver eluded pursuers.
Police said the burglary charge stems from another investigation into the theft of a cellphone from the AT&T store on Montauk Highway in Hampton Bays that occurred in August. They said that investigation helped lead detectives to Mr. Garcia.
Mr. Garcia was processed and held at Town Police headquarters for arraignment.
The driver of a stolen car eluded police following a massive search in Shinnecock Hills Thursday evening that included Suffolk County Police helicopters and K-9 units.
According to police, a car was reported stolen from Union Street in Hampton Bays shortly after 8 p.m. on Thursday. Stony Brook Southampton police officers spotted the car a short time later on Montauk Highway near the college and attempted to pull it over, but the driver fled, leading police on a short chase before jumping from the moving car near the intersection of Middle Pond Road and Dellaria Avenue in Southampton.
The suspect, described as a man in his late teens or early 20s with a light complexion, fled on foot, while the car crashed through a split rail fence before crashing into an anchor post in a creek that connects to Middle Pond, near the end of Dellaria Avenue.
The Southampton Town Police Department, with the assistance of the Suffolk County Police Department Aviation Unit, the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department K-9 Unit, and the Southampton Village Police Department, conducted a search of the area, but the man eluded police and remained at large, police said. New York State Police also sent two patrol cars to assist in the search.
The Southampton Town Police Department Detective Division asks that anyone with information on the incident to call police at 728-5000 or 702-2230, or the Crime Tips Hotline at 728-3454, or send an e-mail to crimetips@southamptontownny.gov.
on Mar 29, 2013