LI CRIME BRIEFS

RIVERHEAD / Man acquitted in child molestation retrial

A Suffolk jury has acquitted Donnell Thomas of charges that he molesting a young girl.

Thomas was convicted in 2007 of first-degree criminal sexual act, but a state appellate court ruled that state Supreme Court Justice Robert W. Doyle erred when he allowed the Huntington Station girl to submit a written statement bolstering her testimony.

After deliberating for a week after a trial on the same charge, a jury acquitted him Friday. "The jury wanted to see more evidence" beyond the girl's version of events, said Thomas' Legal Aid lawyer, Dan Barker.

The Suffolk district attorney's office declined to comment. Barker said Thomas had been imprisoned since his arrest in 2006 until the acquittal.

-- ANDREW SMITH

HAUPPAUGE / Driver, 18, arrested on drag-racing charge

An 18-year-old Huntington Station man was arrested after racing his car against another car in Hauppauge, Suffolk police said Monday.

Moulay Elmessaoudi, of 7 Fairfield Ct., was charged with engaging in an illegal speed contest. Elmessaoudi drove a 2006 Dodge Charger RT against another car on Wireless Boulevard near Moreland Road, about 2:45 a.m. Saturday, police said.

Fourth Precinct Officer Steve Bienemann stopped Elmessaoudi's vehicle, police said. The other vehicle and spectators on the roadway fled the scene, police said.

Elmessaoudi was released on bail, pending a future appearance in First District Court, Hauppauge.

-- BILL MASON