Brentwood Man Accused Of Robbery In Southeast

SOUTHEAST, NY — A Long Island resident accused of robbing a business in Southeast is also a suspect in many other armed robberies, according to Putnam Sheriff Kevin J. McConville.

Putnam Sheriff's deputies were dispatched at 5:15 a.m. March 1 to the Gulf gas station at 1565 Route 22 for a robbery that had just occurred. The suspect had fled.

They began investigating along with members of the Sheriff’s BCI Division. They determined that the robber had entered the store, pointed what was believed to be a firearm at the clerk’s head, and demanded money from the register.

The suspect left with over $6,000 in cash and roughly $350 worth of cigarettes.

Based on information from the store clerk and a very observant customer, who provided photos of the robber's alleged vehicle, an alert was put out to police agencies in the region, McConville said.

At 6:10 am, a Westchester County Police Officer observed the vehicle on Interstate 287 near I-684 in Harrison and began a pursuit. The car drove the wrong way on Westchester Avenue, eventually crashing near the Hutchinson River Parkway entrance, police said. The driver fought with Westchester officers before being taken into custody, they said.

The driver, Jose Nieves, 28, was then turned over to Putnam County, where he was charged with three felonies: one count of Robbery in the 2nd Degree, one count of Grand Larceny 3rd Degree, and one count of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property, as it was learned that the vehicle that he had been driving was stolen from New York City.

The Brentwood resident was held in the Putnam County Correctional Facility on $50,000 cash bail or $100,000 bond. He was also being investigated as a suspect in numerous other armed robberies in New York City, Nassau, and Suffolk Counties, and municipalities in Westchester County, including the Town of North Castle, where it is believed that he committed a similar robbery after the incident in Southeast, McConville said.