Police: Two Robbery Suspects May Be Linked to Purse Snatching Spree that Hit Levittown

Two months after a purse-snatching spree in Levittown and nearby communities brought fear amongst many women, police believe they may have the two men responsible for the robberies in custody.

Two men charged Friday in the robbery of handbags from a 64-year old woman in Hicksville are believed to have also been involved with 14 purse snatchings that occurred between Oct. 23 to Nov, 13 throughout Nassau County’s South Shore, said Nassau County Police spokesman Det. Lt. Kevin Smith. The suspects in Friday’s Hicksville robbery, Adesola Oguntunji 20, of Westbury and Lucson Desir, 22, of New Cassel, match the descriptions provided by victims in last fall’s purse snatchings, said Smith. The car the two men were driving, a 2000 Nissan Maxima, also matches descriptions provided by victims, according to Smith.

During last fall’s purse snatchings female victims were robbed as they exited their vehicles in their residential driveways. The thieves struck in Levittown Nov. 10 and snatched a pocket-book from a woman on Woodcock Lane shortly before 8 p.m. They then hit Levittown again Nov. 11 around 10 p.m., stealing credit cards and cash from a victim on Wheelbarrow Lane. In all, seven women were robbed during the spree in Levittown, Wantagh, East Meadow, Merrick and Baldwin.

“We pretty much feel we have stopped this rash of purse snatchings,” said Smith. “Without a doubt [Robbery Squad detectives] believe they are responsible for all of them.”

The latest handbag robbery in Hicksville occurred when two female victims ages 41 and 64 were walking on Kuhl Avenue and approached from behind by Oguntunji, police said. The defendant then proceeded to pull three handbags from the 64-year-old victim and fled on foot towards Kansas Street where Desir was waiting, according to police. The defendants fled in the 2000 Nissan Maxima and were arrested a short time later when Third Precinct officers observed the vehicle, according to police.

Both Desir and Oguntunji were charged with second-degree robbery and were arraigned at First District Court in Hempstead on Sunday. Smith said police are continuing to investigate Desir's and Oguntunji’s possible involvement with the October and November purse snatchings on the South Shore and whether sufficient evidence can be brought before a grand jury.

Smith said detectives were able to find a link between the vehicle used during the Hicksville robbery and the fall purse snatchings thanks to police stopping Oguntunji and Desir on Nov. 16 in Jericho and asking what they were doing. The two men told police they were meeting some women but did not provide names, according to Smith. Oguntunji and Desir were not charged with a crime on Nov. 16 but a suspicious activity report filed by police with a description of the car that included front-end damage matched the descriptions provided by victims of the purse snatchings, Smith said.