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Five teens are accused of terrorizing a couple at gunpoint in the dead of night last summer at the Ronkonkoma Long Island Rail Road station, while carrying out a brazen carjacking of the pair’s white Mercedes, authorities said.
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said the group rode the LIRR east from Brentwood to Ronkonkoma about 1:28 a.m. on Aug. 17. And once they exited the train, the five hopped off the platform and made a beeline to a 2018 Mercedes CLA parked in the southwest corner of the south parking lot, where a man and woman were sitting inside, prosecutors said.
Two of the suspects allegedly whipped out handguns, shoving one of the weapons into the male victim’s forehead while threatening to kill him.
The terrified couple was forced out of the luxury sedan at gunpoint as the thieves allegedly grabbed a wallet from the man and another $500 from the woman before peeling out of the lot and disappearing westbound.
Arrested were David Susalla, 18; Sean Santaniello, 18; and Jahsiah Tricoche, 18, all of Brentwood; Jayden DeJesus, 18, of Wyandanch; and a 17-year-old boy from Bay Shore.
Investigators said the crew drove the hot car around Ronkonkoma, Brentwood, Central Islip and even deep into New York City — holding onto it for roughly nine days before dumping it in Bay Shore on Aug. 27.
“Violence such as this, where these defendants allegedly targeted two unsuspecting victims at a train station, has no place in society and will not be tolerated in Suffolk County,” Tierney said. “Anyone who commits such violence in Suffolk can expect a full-scale investigation and to be brought to justice.”
The five suspects were arrested Oct. 15.
On Wednesday, Susalla, Tricoche, DeJesus and the 17-year-old defendant pleaded not guilty at their arraignments to a slate of violent felony charges, including first-degree robbery and criminal use of a firearm. They face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
Santaniello is expected in court on Monday.
Four of the defendants remain in jail and being held on high bail ranging from $200,000 to $250,000 cash as the case moves forward, Tierney said. Only Santaniello has posted bail and been released.
Top: (insets, from left) Defendants Jahsiah Tricoche, Jayden DeJesus and David Susalla, all 18 years old, remain in police custody. LIRR Ronkonkoma train station (south side) is in the background.
