Three charged in mailbox explosions

Three Nassau County men were arraigned Tuesday on felony charges they used fireworks to blow up mailboxes -- arrests made after the sport utility vehicle they were in overturned during a police chase, prosecutors said.

Daniel Aviles and Jacob Guerrero III, both 21, and John Pinzon, 20, were jailed Tuesday after being arraigned at First District Court in Hempstead. Pinzon was bailed out; the status of the others wasn't immediately available. Each was charged with three counts of first-degree criminal mischief.

In a statement to police in court records, Guerrero said that the friends had bought a 12-pack of Heineken from a 7-Eleven and were hanging out at a West Hempstead pool hall.

The statement said the trio left the pool hall and were driving around when they decided to use the fireworks.

"John Pinzon and I got out with a firework that I had. John held the firework while I lit it. John then dropped it in a postal mailbox and we ran to the car and sped away," according to Guerrero's statement.

The first incident was reported at 2 a.m. Monday by a Hunnewell Avenue homeowner, who said his mailbox and mail inside it had been destroyed by fireworks, police said. Police said that at 5:15 a.m. a U.S. Postal Service mailbox at Madison and Cross streets also was damaged by fireworks. An explosive also had been placed in a mailbox on Clement Avenue in Elmont, police said.

The men were arrested after their SUV overturned as they were fleeing from Fifth Precinct officers, who had spotted them tailgating a car, screaming out the windows and swerving back and forth on Hawthorne Avenue in West Hempstead, police said.

Pinzon, after being bailed out, said he had nothing to do with the mailbox incidents.

Police said Aviles also is charged with first-degree and third-degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, third-degree unlawful fleeing of a police officer, reckless driving, driving while intoxicated and multiple vehicle and traffic law violations. Aviles' driver's license also was suspended.

Outside the courthouse, Aviles' brother, Dennis, 25, called him "a great kid. . . . We all make mistakes."

Judge Douglas Lerose set bail for Aviles, the SUV driver, at $16,000 bond, $8,000 cash, and for Guerrero and Pinzon each at $12,000 bond, $6,000 cash.