Crime Nearby: Former N. Babylon Football Star Arrested in Burglary

Here are the latest arrests and incidents in neighborhoods surrounding Lindenhurst.

Former North Babylon Football Star Arrested in Burglary
One of the greatest high school athletes in Long Island sports history continued his dramatic fall from grace on Tuesday after he was arrested in connection with a Huntington burglary.

Jason Gwaltney, 25, a North Babylon graduate and former West Virginia University running back, was charged along with four others with first-degree burglary, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, Suffolk County Police said.

The highly recruited Gwaltney turned down USC for the Mountaineers, and played just six games due to injuries, character issues and eligibility concerns. He transferred to Nassau Community College, then Division II C.W. Post before finally landing at D-III Kean.

He’s been tabbed as one of the recruiting busts of the decade. Now he’s simply busted.

Three armed men entered a home on Leigh Street early Tuesday morning, police alleged, entering through an unlocked door at approximately 1:20 a.m. The intruders purportedly threatened five residents and demanded cash.

Two others remained outside, waiting in a 2001 Lincoln and acting as look-outs while the burglary look place, cops said.

The five men fled in the car before being stopped by police on Deer Park Avenue in Dix Hills.

Also arrested on January 22 with Gwaltney, who's currently living in Brentwood: Jaquese Jones, 18, of Bay Shore; Nouvelle Lucas, 17, of Wyandanch; Demetrius Edwards, 19, of Wyandanch; and Tahjiea Carpenter, 17, of Huntington.

Deer Park Bus Driver Charged with DWI
A Deer Park man driving a mini school bus with children aboard was arrested and charged with aggravated DWI last Friday after striking a parked vehicle in Farmingdale, Nassau County Police said.

Officers at the scene arrested Michael Asseng, 47, after determining he was impaired by drugs. He was later transported to an area hospital for evaluation after having difficulty breathing.

The incident happened at about 11:55 a.m. on January 18 along Midwood Avenue; Asseng allegedly struck a parked vehicle while driving a 2001 GMC Omnibus for the ACME Bus Corporation, according to police.

Four children - aged six, eight, eight and 12 respectively - were aboard the bus on the way home from school. None were injured. Police wouldn't say from where the children were being transported.

Asseng was charged with four counts of aggravated DWI under Leandra’s Law and driving while ability impaired, drugs.

West Islip Man in Possible Plea Talks in 'Rebecca' Fraud Case
Mark Hotton, the West Islip man accused of inventing phony investors for a Broadway musical, is in negotiations for a plea deal, according to Newsday.

Hotton, 46, appeared in Manhattan federal court last Friday. Assistant United States Attorney Edward Diskant told United States District Judge John Koeltl, “The defendant and government are engaged in active discussions regarding a disposition,” reported Bloomberg.

A former stock broker, Hotton has been held without bail since his October arrest when federal prosecutors charged him with defrauding producers of the show Rebecca: The Musical by fabricating bogus investors, while collecting more than $30,000 in fees and commission.

Prosecutors alleged Hotton went so far as to fake the death of one phony investor.

Babylon Woman Allegedly Attacked by Dog
A Babylon Village woman said she was attacked by a pit bull last week, and is attempting to have the dog taken out of her neighborhood.

News12 Long Island reported Yvonne Fleming, a Babylon resident, told a reporter she was speed walking along Meade Avenue, in the Fred Shores area of the Village, at about 5 a.m. last Monday morning when a pit bull mauled her.

Fleming, who was noticibly wounded in a video report shown on the news channel, was injured on bite wounds on her face, neck and arm. Fleming noted she was hospitalized for three days following the incident.

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