Man Burglarized 5 Huntington Station Businesses: Police

Police arrested a Huntington Station man for burglarizing five businesses on New York Avenue after officers initially stopped him for drinking an open container of alcohol Friday morning.

According to authorities, police were on patrol when they saw the man drinking in front of 1720 New York Avenue in Huntington Station at approximately 5:10 a.m. The man gave officers a false name and he was subsequently taken to the Second Precinct, police say.

Further investigation by detectives revealed that Jose Benitez, 34, was responsible for five commercial burglaries that occurred between March 17 and March 23. Below are the dates, times, and locations of the burglaries.

• Promesas Christian Book Store, located at 1342 New York Ave., on Wednesday, March 23.
• Checkers, located at 1680 New York Ave., on Wednesday, March 23.
• Variedades Belen, located at 1671 New York Ave., on Sunday, March 20.
• Sunny’s Discount, located at 1345 New York Ave., on Monday, March 21.
• Best for Less, located at 1711 New York Ave., on Thursday, March 17.

Benitez was charged with five counts of third-degree burglary, false personation, a bench warrant and was issued a summons for open alcoholic beverage. He will be held overnight at the Second Precinct and is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip on Friday.