Islip Terrace man arrested in Shell station robbery, cops say

An Islip Terrace man was arrested barely a block from his home — and barely a quarter-mile from the crime scene — about 20 minutes after he robbed a gas station on the Sunrise Highway north service road late Thursday, police said.

Timothy Kaczynski, 23, was arrested on Seal Road at 12:17 a.m. Friday, 23 minutes after he robbed the Shell gas station in Islip Terrace at gunpoint, Suffolk County police said.

Police said Kaczynski entered the station at 11:54 p.m., pointed a pistol at the attendant and demanded cash.

Police said that cash in hand, he then fled.

Seal Road is about a quarter-mile north of the station and about 1 1/2 blocks south of Kaczynski’s home on Floral Park Street. Police did not say if a weapon was recovered.

Kaczynski was charged with first-degree robbery. He faces arraignment Friday in First District Court in Central Islip.

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.”