Oceanside U-Haul security guard charged with setting fire to truck

A security guard at a business that rents U-Haul trucks in Oceanside was arrested and charged with setting a truck on fire in November, police said.

Alec Sapounas, 57, of 3 Patterson Ave., Hempstead, was charged Wednesday with third-degree arson for the fire at the Novak Auto Corp. on Hampton Road in Oceanside on Nov. 19.

Nassau County police said Sapounas set fire to a truck, causing about $12,000 worth of damage. They said the site has been the scene of several suspicious fires to vehicles during the past year.

Sapounas was arraigned Thursday in First District Court in Hempstead. Details of that arraignment were not immediately available Friday.