Crime and courts briefs

UPDATE: A federal wrongful arrest lawsuit filed by a Florida man against Nassau County has been settled, court records show.

Jamie Ballerini, 39, of Palm City, Florida, was arrested in July 2014 for allegedly robbing a motorist of his car keys in Farmingdale, Nassau County police said. The charges were dismissed in March 2015, county court records show.

In August 2015, Ballerini sued the county as well as the district attorney’s office and the police for wrongful arrest. Court documents show a tentative settlement in the case was reached in January, but do not state the terms; the judge discontinued the lawsuit in March. Ballerini said he could not discuss the tentative settlement on the advice of his lawyers. County spokesman Michael Martino declined to comment other than to say there was a tentative settlement.

The original news item, at the bottom, was originally published on July 4, 2014.

DEER PARK

Woman charged with DWI

after crashing car into store

A Dix Hills woman with a prior conviction for drunken driving plowed her car through the glass doors of a supermarket Thursday night in Deer Park, Suffolk County police said.

Jalpa Kalaria, 48, of Stratford Avenue, was charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated, a felony, because of her previous conviction, police said.

No one in the Waldbaum's store at 1960 Deer Park Ave. was hurt, police said, but Kalaria was taken to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore for bruises she received during the accident. She was scheduled to appear in court Friday, where bond was set at $75,000. Her next hearing was scheduled for July 8.

Police said they got a 911 call about 8:19 p.m. Thursday and arriving officers found Kalaria's 2008 Lexus had crashed through the glass exit doors on the south side of the building.

Kalaria was first arrested on a misdemeanor DWI charge Dec. 3. She pleaded guilty in May and is scheduled to be sentenced July 10, according to court records.

Her attorney Ira S. Rosenberg could not be reached last night.

HUNTINGTON

Man accused of leaving

child in car remains in jail

A Maryland man accused of leaving his 2-year-old daughter in a hot pickup while he shopped in Huntington was held on bail Friday and a temporary order of protection issued against him, online court records show.

Melvin Marroquin, 30, of Dundalk, was arraigned on misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a child and second-degree reckless endangerment. Bail was set at $10,000 cash or $50,000 bond.

His daughter was lethargic when she was rescued by Suffolk County officers Derek Mangi and Aaron Klein on Thursday. A passerby called 911 about 12:40 p.m. after hearing cries from a Nissan Frontier parked at the Big H Shopping Center on New York Avenue.

The temperature was an estimated 120 degrees inside the shuttered Nissan but in the 80s outside, police said.

"There was a very, very hot blast of heat that came . . . right into my face," Klein said. "When Officer Mangi grabs the little girl, she was beet red and there were drips of sweat just coming off her face. She looked to be in a lot of pain and agony."

The girl was treated for non-life-threatening heat exposure at Huntington Hospital.

FARMINGDALE

Police: Two men stole keys

from driver after accident

Two out-of-state men have been arrested and charged with robbing a motorist of his car keys in Farmingdale, Nassau County police said.

Jamie Ballerini, 35, of Palm City, Florida, and Robert David Nichols, 27, of Glendale, Arizona, were charged with robbery in the second degree and were expected to be arraigned today in First District Court in Hempstead, police said.

The two men were in a Volkswagen Jetta that was involved in an auto accident at 10:52 p.m. Thursday at Melville Road and Main Street, police said.

The two men beat the 52-year-old driver of the other car, stole his keys and drove away, police said.