Suspect tossed brick, damaged 27 vehicles in East Meadow, officials say

A suspect who allegedly smashed the windshields of more than two dozen vehicles in an East Meadow neighborhood Thursday morning was arraigned Friday in First District Court in Hempstead, charged with 26 counts of third-degree criminal mischief and one count of second-degree criminal mischief, officials said.

Residents said the man, identified by police as Tejinder Singh, 28, of East Meadow, walked up and down Cambridge Street and East Meadow Avenue about 8:30 a.m. Thursday with bricks, tossing them in an apparent random manner at the front and rear windshields of multiple vehicles.

Much of the rampage was captured on Ring doorbell cameras. The suspect is seen in the footage hurling a brick at various vehicles. 

Police said Singh was stopped near Cambridge Street and Prospect Avenue. 

"During the investigation it was determined that Singh was responsible for damaging 25 vehicles," police said in a release. Police said they also determined that Singh was responsible for similar incidents on Monday and Tuesday, when a single vehicle was damaged each day.

Singh told a detective, "I just grabbed some bricks and started breaking things," according to the criminal complaint.

Singh was represented by the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County, which declined to comment.

According to the complaint, one victim said Singh "did intentionally damage" his 2018 Jeep Cherokee by "throwing a brick at the front windshield and shattering the vehicle's windshield." In that case, the complaint states, Singh also damaged a plexiglass garage enclosure with a brick, breaking it and damaging a metal support strut, causing an estimated $1,700 in total damage in the incident.

The complaint states that another alleged victim told police Singh had damaged his company's 2021 Dodge Ram work van, throwing a brick at the front windshield, causing about $250 in damage.

On Thursday, Cambridge Avenue resident Bruce Morrison said he heard a commotion and went outside to find the rear window of his red Hyundai Santa Fe smashed. He then confronted the suspect and then went back inside to call 911.

"I went out for coffee, and a little bit after that I heard like a gunshot," Morrison said. "And I just didn't think anything of it and then I heard another bang. So I got up and looked and I see a man standing right there with bricks, hitting the cars windows."

Morrison said insurance will pay to fix his vehicle, although the repairs will not occur until next week. 

He added, "Some of these people down here have $1,000 deductibles, so they're going to have to pay to fix their cars. ... He really put a lot of people out." 

By Thursday afternoon, police said more than a half dozen cars with smashed windshields remained on Cambridge Avenue and nearby East Meadow Avenue, near the post office and Veterans Memorial Pool, with broken glass littering the roads.

Ed Moskowski, who lives on the corner of Cambridge and Arnold Court, was among the lucky homeowners whose vehicle was not hit by the suspect.

"I can't remember the last time something like this happened in this neighborhood," Moskowski said. "He's taking his frustrations out on everyone else."

With Cecilia Dowd and John Valenti

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.