Cops: Homeless men broke in for drug cash
Four police cars and the suspects' vehicle after a pursuit ended in a crash in Smithtown. (April 10, 2011)
The two men stole anything they could turn into quick cash in order to finance heroin addictions, Suffolk police said.
Michael Ferrara, 41, and Vincent Pensavalle, 42, both homeless, were arrested following a police chase Sunday -- after, police Lt. Thomas O'Heir said, a witness saw them breaking into a home in Dix Hills.
Police said the two men committed eight burglaries, seven of them in Dix Hills, and attempted two others.
O'Heir said they were charged with the burglaries as well as two counts of second-degree assault, four counts of second-degree criminal mischief, resisting arrest and unlawfully fleeing a police officer after they led officers on a chase from Commack Road and the Long Island Expressway in Deer Park to a dead-end street in Smithtown, where their Chevrolet Blazer rammed four marked police cruisers in an attempt to avoid arrest.
Two officers were injured arresting the two men, O'Heir said. One sprained his wrist and fingers, he said. The extent of the other's injuries was not immediately known Monday.
Pensavalle was ordered held on $365,000 bond or $182,500 cash bail at his arraignment Monday at First District Court in Central Islip.
Ferrara was hospitalized at St. Catherine's of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown with undisclosed injuries. His arraignment information was not immediately available.
O'Heir called both men heroin addicts -- and said they committed the burglaries to get quick cash to buy drugs. The burglaries were committed mid-to-late morning, he said.
"Anything they could steal, really," O'Heir said. "They were looking for cash or items they could sell quickly."
O'Heir said police had received witness information from a previous sighting, then received additional information Sunday when the two were spotted in the commission of another burglary.
Police attempted to stop the two about 11:30 a.m. but instead were led on a chase, O'Heir said. He said the Blazer, driven by Ferrara, was pursued at a high speed at times and was tracked by police cruisers and a helicopter.
He said Ferrara used the Blazer to ram the four police cars after he turned onto Larch Lane, where they were caught.
--With Bill Mason
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'You have to check your entire body' The test represents the latest effort to combat Lyme, the most common tick-borne disease in the United States. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa spoke with local experts on what you can do to prevent this disease.
