Oceanside U-Haul security guard charged with setting fire to truck

By JOHN VALENTIjohn.valenti@newsday.comApril 9, 2010

A security guard at a business that rents U-Haul trucks in Oceanside was arrested and charged with setting a truck on fire in November, police said.

Alec Sapounas, 57, of 3 Patterson Ave., Hempstead, was charged Wednesday with third-degree arson for the fire at the Novak Auto Corp. on Hampton Road in Oceanside on Nov. 19.

Nassau County police said Sapounas set fire to a truck, causing about $12,000 worth of damage. They said the site has been the scene of several suspicious fires to vehicles during the past year.

Sapounas was arraigned Thursday in First District Court in Hempstead. Details of that arraignment were not immediately available Friday.

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The proportion of drivers who refused to take a test after being pulled over by trained officers doubled over five years. NewsdayTV’s Virginia Huie reports. Credit: Newsday/Steve Pfost, John Paraskevas, Kendall Rodriguez; Morgan Campbell; Photo credit: Erika Woods; Mitchell family; AP/Mark Lennihan, Hans Pennink; New York Drug Enforcement Task Force; Audrey C. Tiernan; Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office

'Just disappointing and ... sad' The proportion of drivers who refused to take a test after being pulled over by trained officers doubled over five years. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.

Get more on these and other NewsdayTV stories

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'Just disappointing and ... sad' The proportion of drivers who refused to take a test after being pulled over by trained officers doubled over five years. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports.

Get more on these and other NewsdayTV stories