LI CRIME BRIEFS

BRENTWOOD/Passenger dies in car crash

A passenger died Monday morning when a car crashed into a tree in Brentwood, Suffolk police said.

Third Squad detectives are investigating the death of William Smith, 26, of 435 Locust St., Brentwood, who was killed when the 1997 Ford Taurus driven by Kenneth Espada, 24, also of Brentwood, veered across the roadway and hit a tree on the east side of Washington Avenue, north of Stuyvesant Street, police said.

The crash happened shortly before 10 a.m., police said.

The men were taken to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore, where Smith was pronounced dead, police said. Espada, of 80 Pine St., had injuries to his face and chest, police said.

Detectives ask that anyone with information contact the Third Squad at 631-854-8352. -- Gary Dymski

WESTBURY/Man held in bomb threats

A Westbury man reported falsely to police early Monday that he planted bombs at a convenience store and a hospital, Nassau County detectives said.

Marc J. Gatchalian, 27, of 1140 Bernard Dr., called police at 5:42 a.m. and said he had placed a bomb at the 7-Eleven store at 4220 Hempstead Tpke. in Bethpage and another at the Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, police said.

Gatchalian is charged with two counts of falsely reporting an incident and menacing. He was to be arraigned today in First District Court in Hempstead.

Third Precinct officers and the K-9 Unit responded to the hospital but did not find any explosives, police said. Second Precinct officers did not find a bomb at the 7-Eleven, but they found and arrested Gatchalian, a police spokesman said.

The spokesman did not say whether Gatchalian used a pay phone or a cellphone to make the reports, but said he was arrested based on the information he provided when questioned by the officers. No injuries were reported. -- Gary Dymski

PLAINVIEW/Cops: Burglars hit 2 stores

Masked men broke into two Dunkin' Donuts stores in Nassau after hours Sunday and stole money -- in one case by carting away a safe, police said.

The burglaries occurred within 40 minutes at the two retail locations less than half a mile apart, Nassau police said.

Surveillance cameras at both businesses -- 726 Old Country Rd. in Old Bethpage and 587 Old Country Rd. in Plainview -- showed two men wearing masks and gloves prying open the rear doors, police said.

The burglars hit the Dunkin' Donuts in Old Bethpage at 11:15 p.m., then the one in Plainview at 11:53 p.m., police said.

The thieves, police said, took an undetermined amount of cash.

Anyone with information is asked to call 800-244-TIPS. All calls will remain anonymous. -- Chau Lam