Three people were arrested on Monday in connection with a string of burglaries that took place at pharmacies across Nassau County in the last week, including one in Glen Head, police said.
According to police, Casey Arena, 19, of 5 Cloister Lane in Hicksville; Steven Rose, 20, of 158 Cottage Boulevard in Hicksville; and Steve Cross, 21, of 1903 Lenox Avenue in East Meadow, entered the Glen Head Pharmacy at 1:10 a.m. Monday and stole an undetermined amount of pharmaceuticals, approximately one hour after Locust Valley Chemists in Locust Valley was burglarized in similar fashion.
Officials said officers responding to the burglary saw Arena inside the store and apprehended him when he tried to flee the scene on foot, but Rose and Cross tried to flee in a white automobile Cross had been driving.
When Rose and Cross were pulled over by Old Brookville Police on Chicken Valley Road, Cross tried to drive away and nearly hit an officer, police said. The two were later stopped and arrested on Shuswamp Road and Dogwood Lane.
After further investigation from Second and 3rd Robbery Squad detectives, Arena was connected to burglaries that took place in Hicksville, Merrick and East Meadow in the last week. He was charged with five counts of third-degree burglary and multiple counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance.
Rose and Cross were each charged with two counts of third-degree burglary and multiple counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance. Cross was also charged with a first-degree count of reckless endangerment.
