Three charged with string of 7-Eleven holdups in Suffolk, police say
Suffolk County police at the scene of a robbery at a 7-Eleven on Lowell Avenue in Central Islip early Sunday morning. Credit: Stringer News Service
Three people were arraigned Friday in connection with a string of gunpoint robberies targeting 7-Eleven stores in Suffolk County during the past three months, authorities said.
William Jackson, 39, of Schleigel Boulevard in Amityville; Audra Litwin, 33, of Oak Street in Babylon; and Akeel Swazey, 36, who had no current address, held up six stores between March 15 and May 19, said detectives with the Suffolk police department's major case section. Swazey robbed a 7-Eleven in Melville on Route 110 by himself on Dec. 21 and returned with Jackson and Litwin to hold up the store a second time May 18, police said.
The three, arrested Thursday, were charged with six counts each of first-degree robbery committed in March and May in Huntington, Babylon and Islip towns, police said. Video surveillance, tips and interviews led investigators to the three, police said, and a vehicle used in the crimes was seized.
Swazey faces an additional first-degree robbery charge for the December holdup in Melville, police said. Jackson also faces a charge of first-degree criminal contempt and Litwin was charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, police said.
Swazey and Jackson were held on a bail of $10,000 cash or $25,000 bond. Litwin's bail was set at $8,000 cash or $16,000 bond. Their attorneys could not be immediately reached Friday night.
Detectives did not release details of the investigation, including what role each played in the robberies or whether investigators recovered a weapon or cash.
