LONG ISLAND CRIME BRIEFS

UNIONDALE

Contractor accused of

cheating homeowners

The owner of a Uniondale home-improvement company has been charged with bilking four Queens homeowners out of nearly $250,000 in contracting work he never completed, the Queens district attorney's office said Thursday.

Derrick Burrell, 47, of Rockville Centre, was arraigned Wednesday night on four counts of misappropriation of funds of trust under the state lien laws, two counts of second-degree grand larceny, two counts of third-degree larceny, both felonies; and one count of second-degree scheme to defraud, a misdemeanor, prosecutors said.

As owner and president of D&E Properties Management & Services, Burrell performed demolition work between July 2009 and August 2012 at homes in Woodside, Queens Village, Hollis and Jamaica, prosecutors said.

But he never returned to finish the jobs, even though the victims had paid amounts ranging from $9,600 to more than $103,000 for the home improvements, District Attorney Richard A. Brown said.

Burrell is accused of cashing the homeowners' checks at various check-cashing locations in Long Island and New Jersey but did not deposit the funds into a business account, as required by law.

Burrell was released on a $3,000 bond and is scheduled to return to court Sept. 9. If convicted, he faces up to 44 years in prison, prosecutors said.

His attorney, Dorian R. Glover of Garden City, declined to comment.

WYANDANCHFight, disturbance, hit-run began with kiss, cops say

A kiss at a Wyandanch party led to a fight, bottle throwing in the streets Thursday at 4:30 a.m., a hit-and-run with four victims -- and an arrest, Suffolk police said.

At a house party on South 32nd Street, a man kissed Netanya Lewis, 18, of Melville, but the man's ex-girlfriend saw it and got angry, said First Precinct Det. Michael Fitzpatrick, who is working the case.

Lewis and the ex-girlfriend got into a fistfight, he said, and Lewis tried to leave the house.

"She tries to get into her car, and now the party's excited and spills out onto the street," Fitzpatrick said.

Bottles were thrown and people were shouting, he said.

"She goes to take off and hits four people," the detective said. The victims had minor injuries and were treated and released at Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip.

Lewis surrendered to police Thursday afternoon and was charged with five misdemeanors -- four counts of third-degree assault and leaving the scene of an accident with physical injuries. She was released with a field appearance ticket and scheduled to go to court Sept. 22, police said.

BETHPAGEQueens man accused

of bilking 92-year-old

A 92-year-old Bethpage man who thought he was investing in high-end imported vehicles instead was robbed of $40,000 by a 20-year-old Queens man, police said.

Nassau police said the scheme was unraveled this week when a court-appointed guardian uncovered the thefts.

Ackeem R. Baker, of 116-25 Merrick Blvd., Jamaica, Queens, was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with third-degree grand larceny, a felony; second-degree attempted grand larceny and first-degree endangering the welfare of an incompetent person, both misdemeanors, Nassau County police said.

At arraignment Thursday in First District Court in Hempstead he was held on $2,000 cash or bond and is next due in court Monday.

Police said Baker persuaded the victim to invest in his business. But, police said, there were no vehicles.

Police said some of the proceeds were recovered.