Two Charged in Wild BMX Ride At Splish Slash Set for Arraignment Wednesday: DA

RIVERHEAD, NY — Two men most recently arrested by Riverhead Town police in an ongoing investigation of young men breaking and entering Splish Splash in Riverhead to ride their BMX bikes on the park’s slides and other equipment on Thanksgiving will appear for arraignment in Riverhead Town Justice Court Wednesday, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said.

On January 11, Riverhead Police reported the arrests of Joseph Hanusiewicz, 24, of Massapequa Park and Ethan Solomkin, 25, of Great Neck.

The pair, like their alleged colleagues who were arraigned earlier this month, is charged with third-degree criminal trespass, Spota said.

The investigation has been ongoing into the incident, during which numerous subjects trespassed at Splish Splash on and rode BMX bikes through the property, Riverhead Police said.

On Jan. 6, Hanusiewicz, of Massapequa Park was arrested, and charged with third degree criminal trespass; he was processed and released on an appearance ticket for Jan. 18, police said.

Previously, on Jan. 2, Solomkin, of Great Neck, was arrested and charged with third degree criminal trespass; he was processed and released on an appearance ticket for Jan. 18, according to the Riverhead Police COPE unit.

A video of the joyride took the internet by storm, with more than nine million views so far.

According to police, eight people climbed a fence at Splish Splash, located at 2549 Splish Splash Drive, on Nov. 24 at approximately 8 a.m. and rode BMX bikes on multiple waterslides throughout the closed park, police said.

Four men had already been arrested before the most recent arrests, police said.

According to Riverhead Town Police, Jonathan Nemecek, 25, of Lindenhurst, William Perry, 22, of West Islip, Anthony Panza, 19, of Lindenhurst, and Brian A. Chliek, 34, of Bayport, were arrested and charged with third-degree criminal trespass.

The YouTube video was posted by Billy Perry, one of the BMX riders.

At the start of the video, Perry, who is 21, according to his YouTube profile, says from a car on the way to the Calverton park that the day is "going to be insane, if we don't get arrested. Hopefully we don't get arrested."
Later, he wrote on YouTube: "We talked about sneaking in and riding this waterpark for years. Thanksgiving Day came and it was finally time to head out at 6 a.m. in hopes of riding the waterpark and not getting arrested. The day was absolutely insane and then we got spotted by security."

Perry has a substantial following on YouTube and frequently posts videos of himself and his friends biking, mainly in New York City.

The investigation into the incident is active and anyone with information is encouraged to call the Riverhead Police Department at 631-727-4500.

Video courtesy of YouTube.
Photos: Joseph Hanusiewicz (L) and Ethan Solomkin