Riverhead Police have charged a Riverhead man with grand larceny in the fourth degree, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and leaving the scene of an accident with property damage after he crashed a stolen vehicle on County Route 105 early Sunday morning and fled the scene in a taxi.
The alleged thief was later located at the apartment from which the vehicle had been stolen, according to police.
Riverhead Police said they responded to a report of a single-car crash on CR 105 on Sunday at around 3:15 a.m. The driver of a 2000 Volkswagen Jetta fled the scene of the accident in a taxi cab that had come upon the scene, according to police. Police later determined that the Volkswagen was stolen from a West Main Street apartment, according to the police report.
Abel Neira, 25, was charged with one count of grand larceny in the fourth degree, as well as unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident with property damage, police said.
Neira was subsequently transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead with a neck injury sustained in the earlier motor vehicle accident.
Editor’s note: A criminal charge is an accusation. By law, a person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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