VIDEO: From Auto Shops To Armed Home Invasion, 9 Charged In Violent LI-Based Crime Ring, DA Says

HAUPPAUGE, NY — Nine men have been indicted in what prosecutors described as a Suffolk County-based organized crime ring responsible for a 17-day spree of burglaries, armed robberies, carjackings, and stolen vehicles stretching from Long Island to Florida, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said Friday.

The 38-count indictment charges the defendants with committing 10 burglaries, three armed robberies, and multiple vehicle thefts between July 19 and Aug. 4, 2025, targeting auto-body shops and residents across Suffolk County, Nassau County, New York City, Westchester and Dutchess counties, and as far south as Florida, the DA said.

"This indictment is another example of my office’s commitment to holding organized criminal enterprises accountable," Tierney said during a conference at the H. Lee Dennison Building. "Through collaboration with our law enforcement partners, we were able to uncover, identify, and charge this Suffolk County-based operation with a pattern of robberies, burglaries, and car thefts spanning multiple jurisdictions from Long Island to Florida."

The investigation began in August 2025, when members of the Suffolk County Police Department and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Gang Task Force began examining a pattern of burglaries, stolen vehicles, and armed robberies in Deer Park and Bay Shore, the DA said.

"As the investigation evolved, we quickly discovered that these Suffolk County incidents were not isolated," Tierney said. "Rather, they were part of a larger organized enterprise that was carrying out criminal acts, not just here in Suffolk County, but elsewhere in New York State, as well as in Florida."

Investigators executed about 30 search warrants for digital data and residences and relied on video surveillance, witness interviews, and coordination among numerous local, state, and federal agencies, officials said.

The indictment states that on July 19, 2025, Leny Cruz, 23, of Brooklyn, Harvin Parra, 20, of Bay Shore, Noel Santelises, 21, of Brooklyn, and Edward Nunez, 28, of Brooklyn, traveled from Suffolk County to Westchester County in a stolen BMW M3 and broke into three auto-body shops in one night. Prosecutors said they smashed front windows, stole hundreds of dollars in cash and approximately 200 blank checks, and returned to Suffolk County.

Less than a week later, on July 25, Cruz and Parra broke into two auto-body shops in Dutchess County, prosecutors said. In Hyde Park, they stole keys to a white Chevrolet Suburban parked outside and then stole the vehicle, the DA said. They drove the Suburban to a second shop in Poughkeepsie, where they stole a safe containing $5,000 in cash, blank checks, and 48 sets of New York State license plates, the DA said.

On the return trip to Suffolk County, Cruz and Parra stopped in Nassau County and smashed the front glass window of a Lamborghini dealership in an unsuccessful attempt to steal a vehicle, prosecutors said. When the alarm activated, they fled, officials said.

The stolen Suburban was later recovered in Melville, the DA said.

Tierney said the following day, Cruz and Parra traveled to Florida to obtain firearms and continue the spree. Between July 27 and July 29, the pair acquired two firearms and stole a Dodge Charger in Florida, prosecutors said. They swapped the Charger’s license plate with one of the plates stolen in Poughkeepsie in an effort to avoid detection, the DA said.

While in Florida, they attempted to break into an auto-body shop in Arcadia, prosecutors said. On the drive back north, they used the firearms to carjack a BMW sedan, the DA said. The BMW was abandoned after prosecutors said it was a manual transmission vehicle, and they returned to Suffolk County in the stolen Charger, officials said.

On Aug. 2, Cruz and Parra were joined by Justin Kenny, 24, of Bohemia, and Savion Jones, 22, of Huntington Station, prosecutors said. The four traveled to Sleepy Hollow in Westchester County in a Hyundai SUV affixed with a stolen license plate and broke into another auto-body shop, Tierney said.

That same day, the four returned to Suffolk County armed with a firearm and broke into an apartment in an Amityville complex, stealing several thousand dollars in cash and the keys to a Porsche SUV parked outside, prosecutors said. The Porsche was stolen and later abandoned in Queens, the DA said.

Between Aug. 3 and Aug. 4, Parra, Jose Ramos, 20, of Bay Shore, and Carlos Benitez-Montoya, 20, of Bay Shore, broke into an auto-body shop in Deer Park and stole car keys, tools, and an iPad while armed with what appeared to be firearms, prosecutors said. The three then carjacked a woman outside her Deer Park residence, stealing her Mercury sedan before attempting another auto-body shop burglary in Amityville, the DA said.

Tierney said the crimes escalated in severity over time.

"What you saw is that they’re breaking into businesses that are not occupied," he said. "But as they continue and gain confidence and success, now all of a sudden they’re going to the public at large, they’re using those same weapons, and now they’re confronting innocent victims."

Later on Aug. 4, Cruz, Parra, Jones, Kenny, and Robert Salters, 20, of Wyandanch, conspired to commit a home invasion at a Bay Shore residence, prosecutors said. The group entered the residence and stole about $4,700 at gunpoint, the DA said.

The resident called 911, and Suffolk County police responded immediately, arresting Cruz and Parra nearby, the DA said.

Cruz had a .45 caliber handgun, $2,000 in cash, and a key fob to the stolen Dodge Charger, prosecutors said. Police recovered the Charger nearby and found additional stolen license plates inside, the DA said.

Cruz and Parra have remained incarcerated since their August 2025 arrests, Tierney said.

On Feb. 25, 2026, six of the nine defendants were arrested with assistance from the U.S. Marshals New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, the NYPD, and other law enforcement partners, Tierney said. Three defendants were already in custody, the DA said.

Jones faces a top count of first-degree robbery and is currently in custody on an unrelated case, the DA said. Cruz faces a top count of first-degree robbery, Tierney said. Parra faces a top count of first-degree robbery and was ordered held on $350,000 cash bail, $750,000 bond, or $1.5 million partially secured bond, the DA said.

Santelises faces a top count of third-degree burglary and was placed on supervised release because the charge is non-bail eligible under New York law, the DA said. Salters faces a top count of first-degree robbery and was ordered held on bail, Tierney said. Nunez faces a top count of third-degree burglary and was placed on supervised release, the DA said.

Kenny faces a top count of first-degree robbery and was ordered held on bail, the DA said. Ramos faces a top count of second-degree robbery and was ordered held on bail, Tierney said. Benitez-Montoya faces a top count of second-degree robbery and was ordered held on bail, the DA said.

Jones, Cruz, Parra, Salters, and Kenny — each charged with first-degree robbery — face up to 25 years in prison if convicted, the DA said. Ramos and Benitez-Montoya, charged with second-degree robbery, face up to 15 years. Santelises and Nunez, charged with third-degree burglary, face up to 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison, the DA said.

Tierney credited the coordinated efforts of Suffolk County police, the Sheriff’s Office, New York State Police, the NYPD, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Nassau County Police, local police departments in Westchester and Dutchess counties, Florida authorities, and the U.S. Marshals Service.

Attorneys for the defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.

"These individuals did not expect that law enforcement would coordinate," Tierney said. "They believed by traveling across county lines and engaging in criminal activity in a number of different jurisdictions, law enforcement would not coordinate their investigations, and they would get away with their crimes. But thanks to the efforts of all of our partners, they were not successful."