Cops: Man arrested in stolen-car chase

A Hampton Bays man who eluded police last week by jumping from a stolen car in Southampton faces a charge of grand larceny, Southampton Town police said Monday.

Carlos Garcia, 21, was arrested Monday on charges of third-degree grand larceny, a felony, and also faces a felony burglary charge stemming from another case, police said.

His arraignment information was not immediately available.

Garcia allegedly took a car on Union Street in Hampton Bays, and it was reported stolen at 8:22 p.m. Thursday, police said.

Stony Brook University police on patrol on Montauk Highway near the Stony Brook Southampton Campus spotted the vehicle and attempted to begin a traffic stop, police said.

Instead, police said, the suspect led the officers on a brief pursuit, before jumping from the car while it was still moving near the intersection of Middle Pond Road and Dellaria Avenue.

Police said Garcia ran off as the car crashed through a fence before plowing into a mooring anchor post in a creek.

A search, which included a Suffolk County police helicopter, a Suffolk Sheriff's Office K-9 unit and officers from Southampton Village police, failed to locate the suspect.

The burglary charge "stems from a long investigation into the theft of cellphone from the AT&T Store on Montauk Highway in Hampton Bays, which occurred in August 2012," police said in a news release.

With John Valenti