Thomaston man charged in Nassau County gas station, store robberies

A Thomaston man faces arraignment Friday in connection with a string of robberies — two of them armed — in Nassau County, police said.

Nassau County police said Jonathan Barrientos, 28, was arrested by Robbery Squad and Bureau of Special Operations officers Thursday after an investigation. He was charged with two counts of first-degree robbery, first-degree criminal use of a firearm, fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, petit larceny, seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substances and attempted third-degree robbery.

He is scheduled for arraignment in First District Court in Hempstead. It was not immediately clear if he was represented by counsel.

Police said that on Aug. 25 Barrientos entered the Shell gas station at 220 Northern Blvd. in Great Neck and stole merchandise from the shelves before fleeing the scene.

Then, at 6:12 p.m. on Monday, police said Barrientos entered a convenience store on Middle Neck Road in Great Neck Plaza, told the clerk he had a gun, and demanded cash from the register — but fled the scene without any proceeds. Little more than one hour later, police said, Barrientos entered a BP gas station on North Central Avenue in Valley Stream, pointed a handgun at the clerk, got cash from the register and fled with an undisclosed amount of money.

Police did not detail what evidence led them to arrest Barrientos.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”