Nassau, Suffolk Counties form task force to take on high-end thefts
MINEOLA, N.Y. - Law enforcement on Long Island announced Thursday they're creating a new task force to fight a spike in high end home break-ins and car thefts.
They launched the new task force with the announcement of its first arrests.
"They put a legal driver behind the wheel in a car, drive out here, steal a car, switch the plates and start committing those crimes in our communities," Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said.
In a rare joint press conference, Nassau and Suffolk police and DAs, state police, the FBI and the NYPD partnered to fight dangerous crime rings that target the suburbs.
"What we are announcing today is a multijurisdictional burglary and stolen car task force," Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said. "They are going to be creative, they are going to think out of the box."
They announced the arrest of three men - part of a larger crew of 15-20, police said - who spot high end cars in driveways then break into homes in search of key fobs.
Jawuan Whitted, 23, Raquil Hayes, 21, and 19-year-old Furquan Ahmad, all from Newark, N.J., and who all have multiple prior arrests, were charged with six incidents since July in affluent North and South Shore communities.
Last weekend, they allegedly crashed a BMW into a Lake Success cop car and were found hiding in a shed. Police said a gun found in the car had been modified to be more deadly.
"That weapon has been altered to be fully automatic. That means it acts like just like a machine gun," Ryder said.
Home break-ins and car thefts have spiked on Long Island since 2021. Police said 90% of stolen cars in Nassau County are tracked to Newark. They blame lenient laws, and say banding together is needed in order to fight back.
"The brazenness of these criminals, supported by weak bail and discovery laws handed down by Albany, created a new plague," Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said.
"They'll start out on the East End of Long Island and work their way back through western Suffolk, into Nassau, and then back into New Jersey," Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.
"How many times do we let them out to keep committing crimes in our counties," Ryder added.
The new task force will include Long Island's many towns and villages. They'll share technology and real-time intelligence.
The three defendants pleaded not guilty and are being held on $50,000 bail each. The district attorney had requested $1 million bail.