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The latest known street takeover on Long Island — one in which a Suffolk cop was assaulted and dragged by a car — has yielded two arrests, police said on Friday.
Dennis Kaprov, 21, of Brooklyn and Jordy Yanzaguano, 20, of Westbury face an array of charges relating to the wild scene that unfolded just after midnight Sunday in Islip when residents, incensed by the revving engines and burning rubber near their homes, began to flood emergency services with 911 calls to report the chaos.
While responding to the calls — which also reported the blocking of regular traffic that is customary with street takeovers — a Suffolk Police officer slammed into a pole while trying to avoid a person in the roadway.
The officer exited his vehicle and walked to the front of a crowd that had gathered to watch and record the car stunts and other shenanigans occurring during the street takeover, which involved a coordinated effort to block off regular traffic from the intersection of Commack Road and the westbound Sunrise Highway Service Road.
Police said the cop managed to stop Kaprov, who was driving recklessly in a black Ford Mustang, but he was attacked from behind by several people. As the officer gripped the door of the Mustang, the driver fled and dragged the cop, before colliding with another vehicle and fleeing the scene on foot, authorities said.
The officer was treated for injuries and released from a nearby hospital. Individuals participating in the street takeover are seen on video slashing the tires of the officer’s police vehicle, with one person heard imploring another to, “Do both tires!!”
Others at the takeover are heard in the video shouting at, crowding around, and taunting a police officer, saying among other things, "All that training for what pussy? All that training to get outrun by a little kid .... Go home, pig."
Street takeovers have become a familiar late-night, weekend scene at intersections across Suffolk County in recent weeks, with arrests made in wake of street takeovers in Patchogue and Shirley. The illegal activity has also rattled neighborhoods in Miller Place and Sound Beach. It’s part of a trend that has popped up in neighborhoods across the country.
In the Islip case, police Thursday arrested Kaprov. He is charged with second-degree assault; first- and second-degree reckless endangerment; leaving the scene of an accident; and unlawful speed contests, sideshows and races. He was in jail overnight and is expected to be arraigned today at First District Court in Central Islip.
Yanzaguano, police said, was a driver participating in the street takeover and abandoned his vehicle, a Chrysler 300M with a Hellcat emblem. He was arrested on Wednesday and charged with second-degree reckless endangerment and unlawful speed contests, sideshows. Cops issued Yanzaguano desk appearance ticket and he will be arraigned at a later date.
Suffolk Police Third Squad detectives received assistance from the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Marshal’s Task Force, the Third Precinct Crime Section, and Suffolk County Police Criminal Intelligence Bureau and Crime Analysis Center analysts.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and asked that anyone with information is asked to call the Third Squad at 631.854.8352 or Suffolk County Crime Stoppers at 1.800.220.TIPS.
Top photo: Facebook/Dan Panico, Brookhaven Town Supervisor
