Ten Worst or Strangest Crimes of 2010

This is the first in a series of 2010 year in review stories we'll be featuring on Patch in December. Our first story is a major departure from the holiday-themed stories that we've been running lately.

Although Massapequa is a beautiful suburban community and one of the safest places to live in the area, it is not immune from problems like crime that plague other communities. 

While we don't see as much crime in Massapequa that we see in other areas, we've certainly seen our share of shocking and disturbing incidents in 2011. We've also had a few crimes that qualify as bizarre. 

But we're going to begin our look at the ten worst or strangest crimes of 2010 with one that had the happiest of endings:

1. Kids Foil Gas Station Robbery: It was the type of situation that would strike fear in hearts of any parent. An armed robbery taking place at a gas station just yards away from where  But as the robber fled the scene, the kids became heroes by taking down the license plate number of the getaway car leading to an arrest.
2. Serial Bank Robber: He was the peskiest of criminals. A bank robber who struck three times in Massapequa, handing tellers notes demanding money and then fleeing down Sunrise Highway before authorities arrived. When cops said they  suspect, thanks to an alert probation officer, he was charged with five robberies in all throughout the area.
3. Eagle Statues Broken: It was as insensitive an act of  as you could possibly imagine. The two American Eagle statues displayed at the front gates of  were destroyed on the eve of the July 4th weekend. It was a blow to the patriotism of the veterans who call the post a second home. But thanks to some quick work and an anonymous donation, the statues were to their rightful perch in time for the Fourth.
4. Drug Doctor Convicted: He sold oxycodone out of his office in the shadow of , but Dr. Saji Francis didn't get away with it. The disgraced doctor  in July to selling illegal prescriptions to undercover officers and was  to six months in jail in October. Francis had his medical license yanked and was forced to give up his office.
5. Shooting Near Field of Dreams Park: Gunfire is unusual in Massapequa, but it a warm Sunday night in August. While the shooting left one victim hospitalized the lateness of the hour prevented possible tragedy as the incident happened just yards away from the Three teens were  in connection with the incident.
6. Parents Accused of Leaving Kids to Shop: On a stormy Friday night in July, witnesses outside  in North Massapequa called cops reporting that four kids had been left alone in a vehicle in the parking lot.  When police arrived they  who they said had gone shopping.
7. YouTube Thief: If you're going to break into a car to grab some spare change, it's usually not a good idea to have a video of the crime go viral on YouTube. But that's exactly what police said happened to a South Famingdale man who  after an officer recognized him from viewing his starring role, which received a number of hits after the victim posted the video.
8. Leandra's Law Arrest: A man who cops said had pulled his car over to the side of the Southern State Parkway at 3:30 a.m.  under Leandra's Law after state police said they found an open container of beer in the car, while the suspect's 2-year-old daughter was in the back seat.
9. You Can't Take Back A Stickup: We've had many unusual incidents in our weekly Police Blotter feature in 2010, but  may have been the weirdest. Police said a man who tried to rob a jewelry store, told the owner he was only joking. Police weren't laughing when they arrested him.
10. How Do You Lose a Three Ton Hammer? You would think construction workers could safely leave a three ton hammer along the side of Sunrise Highway over the weekend, but apparently that wasn't the case. Somebody was able to  with the heavy equipment in September.