Cops: Man arrested for string of gas station, hotel robberies in Suffolk

A man was arrested Friday and charged in a string of robberies in Suffolk County, police said.

Jose Nieves, 28, who is homeless, committed three robberies in February — one at a gas station in Islip and two at hotels in East Farmingdale and Ronkonkoma, police said. Nieves was arrested Friday after an investigation by Major Case Unit detectives and charged with three counts of second-degree robbery. He is scheduled for arraignment Friday in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead.

Police said the robbery at the Clarion Hotel on Veterans Memorial Highway in Ronkonkoma took place Feb. 9. On Feb. 13, police said, Nieves robbed the Towne Place Suites by Marriott at Marriott Plaza in East Farmingdale. On Feb. 15, police said, Nieves robbed a Shell gas station on Islip Avenue in Islip.

Police did not detail what evidence led them to Nieves, but in a statement Friday said investigators collaborated with investigators from the Putnam County Sheriff's Office, the NYPD and Nassau County police — and that detectives believe Nieves committed "similar robberies" in those jurisdictions.

Suffolk police said Friday that Nieves was facing unspecified charges in Nassau and New York City, and was being held in Putnam on second-degree robbery charges there when he was taken into custody for the robberies in Suffolk.

Court records show Nieves pleaded not guilty to second-degree robbery charges following being indicted in Putnam, and that he was being held on $100,000 bond or $50,000 cash.

His next court appearance in Putnam is June 20.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”