Long Island Man Arrested For Robbery After Interstate Chase: Police

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — A Long Island man is facing multiple charges after leading law enforcement on a chase through several different jurisdictions.

Around 5:20 a.m. Wednesday, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department said that an armed robbery of a gas station convenience store had happened in the town of Southeast.

Authorities said the suspect vehicle was described as a silver- or light-colored Toyota Corolla.

At 6 a.m., the North Castle Police Department reported a similar robbery, adding that a white Corolla with Alabama plates had fled the scene.

A Westchester County police officer headed toward Interstate 684, knowing it was a potential avenue of flight for a person suspected of committing the robberies.

The officer soon spotted the Toyota traveling south near the Hutchinson River Parkway split, police said.

A traffic stop was attempted, but the car fled at high speed onto Westchester Avenue and westbound on Interstate 287. The driver then made a U-turn on the highway, traveling east in the westbound lanes.

Authorities said the pursuit was terminated to safeguard the other motorists, but the hunt for the driver didn’t stop.

Officers from other departments in the area, including North Castle, Harrison and White Plains, that were in regular communication with the Real Time Crime Center and county police patrol, joined in the effort to locate the Corolla.

Another Westchester police officer anticipated where the car was headed and was waiting for it.

The officer followed the Corolla when it entered the entrance ramp to the southbound Hutchinson parkway, but the driver lost control of the car, spun out and ended up off the road.

As the officer was taking the man into custody, the man resisted arrest. A white van then pulled over, and its driver helped the county officer get the man on the ground.

Other officers arrived, police said, and the man was subdued.

The mystery van driver left the scene before police could thank him, authorities said.

The driver of the Toyota was identified as Juan Nieves, 28.

Police said the Corolla was found to have been stolen Feb. 19 in New York, and its trunk was filled with items that taken in the robberies.

Nieves was charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property, a felony, and unlawful fleeing a police officer, reckless driving, resisting arrest and second-degree obstruction of governmental administration, all misdemeanors.

Westchester County Police said he is also facing robbery charges in Putnam and Suffolk counties and North Castle.