Nassau Man Charged In Fatal Hit-And-Run Over $22 Of Gas

Three months after his arrest in Pennsylvania, a Baldwin man was arraigned in Nassau County court today and charged with murdering a gas station owner while trying to steal $22 of gas.

Joshua Roston, 33, was charged with three counts of second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of first-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, third-degree robbery, leaving the scene of an incident without reporting and three counts of petty larceny.

Bail was set at $500,000 bond or $250,000 cash, and Roston is due back in court on May 9. If convicted of the top charge, he could face 25 years to life in prison. Officials say it took months for Roston to be extradited back to Nassau County to stand trial for the crime.

“An innocent 59-year-old man lost his life because this defendant allegedly chose to run him over rather than pay for $22 worth of gas,” said Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas. “This senseless murder shocks the conscience, and our prosecutors will aggressively seek justice for Mr. Dagdeviren and his family.”

According to Singas, just before 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 14, Roston pulled into the middle pump at the Pit Stop gas station, located at 1210 Grand Ave. in North Baldwin, and asked an attendant to fill up his GMC Suburban.

After Roston gave the attendant a forged $50 bill, Singas said he stopped filling up the car with $22 of gas inside. Roston then told the attendant he was going to inside the store to pay with his credit card, Singas said, but then said he needed to go to an ATM to get cash. While this was happening, 59-year-old Cemal Dagdeviren, of Levittown, a manager of the station, arrived and took over for the attendant.

Dagdeverin left the store with Roston, who Singas said tried to get into his car and drive away. To try to stop him, Dagdeverin walked around the front of the car, knocked on the driver's window and grabbed the windshield wiper. Singas said that instead of stopping, Roston accelerated and ran over Dagdeverin, dragging him for several feet and killing him.

Roston fled the scene and eventually turned himself in to police in Philadelphia on Jan. 18, Singas said.