Queens man charged with LIRR thefts

Metropolitan Transportation Authority police arrested a 20-year-old Queens man near the Bayside station in connection with three incidents of theft on the Port Washington branch of the Long Island Rail Road after being alerted to him by LIRR crew members, MTA officials said.

Thomas Gray was arrested Monday and charged with two counts of fourth-degree grand larceny, one count of petty larceny, three counts of criminal possession of stolen property and one count of theft of service. The stolen items included a purse on Feb. 19 of last year, an iPod on Jan. 6 and an iPhone on Jan. 26.

LIRR crew members spotted Gray on the 10:49 a.m. train from Port Washington and asked him to get off at the LIRR Bayside station because he was refusing to pay the fare, the MTA said. The crew then notified MTA police, who arrested him.

"I urge our customers to be aware that iPhones, iPads and other popular electronic devices are increasingly the target of thieves onboard our trains," Helena Williams, president of the Long Island Rail Road, said in a statement. "Be aware of your surroundings at all times and put these devices away when boarding and exiting trains for your own personal safety."

She also commended the crew members and MTA police for their actions.