Masked man with machete robbed gas stations, 7-Eleven, Suffolk police say

A masked man who wielded a machete during a string of alleged robberies was arrested Saturday and accused of trying to rob the same Oakdale gas station twice, Suffolk County police said.

Ronald Fuzia, 37, of Islip Terrace, was arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree robbery and one count of first-degree attempted robbery. Police say Fuzia is behind a series of early-morning robberies beginning in late July in which he wore a mask and carried a machete.

Fuzia robbed a Montauk Highway Valero gas station in Oakdale about 2:15 a.m. on July 31, police said.

He robbed a westbound Sunrise Highway service road Shell gas station in Islip Terrace about 4:15 a.m. on Aug. 23, police said.

Then on Saturday, police said Fuzia once again wore a mask and held a machete when he returned to the Oakdale Valero gas station on Montauk Highway shortly before 3 a.m. and demanded money from the clerk. He fled without proceeds, police said.

Only 10 minutes later, Fuzia went to a 7-Eleven store on Carlton Avenue in Islip Terrace, still wearing the mask and holding a machete, and robbed money from the clerk, police said.

Police did not say how much money Fuzia allegedly stole.

Fuzia is scheduled to be arraigned Sunday in First District Court in Central Islip, police said.