Cops: Arrest in Nassau Valentine’s Day package theft spree
Joseph Ravenell, 26, of Hempstead, was arrested in Valentine's Day package theft spree, police said. Credit: NCPD
Some guys stole hearts on Valentine’s Day. Nassau County police say Joseph Ravenell stole packages.
Ravenell, the latest suspect arrested in a crime trend attributed to thieves known as “porch pirates,” is charged with seven counts of petit larceny, all in the theft of packages from homes in Rockville Centre, Oceanside and South Hempstead on Wednesday, police said.
Ravenell, 26, of Martin Luther King Drive, Hempstead, was arrested after being caught on video surveillance “removing packages from several residences and placing them into a maroon Chevrolet Monte Carlo,” police said.
The thefts occurred on Columbia Road, Harvard Avenue, Hempstead Avenue, Terrell Avenue and Dartmouth Street in Rockville Centre, as well as on Cedar Street in South Hempstead and Windsor Place in Oceanside.
Police did not disclose the items taken or their value. It also was unclear if any of those items were recovered.
Ravenell is scheduled for arraignment Friday in First District Court in Hempstead.
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.”
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