The Nassau County Police Department arrested two men in Queens last week for multiple grand larcenies across the county, with a third fleeing after allegedly hitting a detective with his car.
Detectives said in a statement that Matthew Garcia, 21, of Queens and Rafael Ramirez, 35, of the Bronx were arrested late April 21 in a series of suspected car thefts related to a possible burglary ring.
Detectives from the department’s burglary pattern team assigned to the auto theft unit were investigating a stolen car ring, which led them to Corona in Queens.
“During this investigation, [the team] observed a stolen 2018 BMW X5,” the department said. “The vehicle stopped at a BP gas station located near the intersection of the Horace Harding Expressway and 99th Street and detectives attempted to arrest the three male subjects inside the vehicle.”
The third subject, whom police identified as Jorge Alvarez, was operating the BMW, and intentionally struck one of the arresting detectives before crashing into a nearby police vehicle, the Nassau Police Department said. The three suspects then left the vehicle and fled on foot, police said. Garcia and Ramirez were found a short time later, but Alvarez was not located.
The detective who was struck by the car suffered multiple injuries, including a broken leg, and was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Garcia is charged with six total counts of grand larceny as well as resisting arrest and was arraigned April 23, police said. He is scheduled to return to court for similar charges May 28 in a separate incident involving a stolen Land Rover in Roslyn Estates.
Ramirez is charged with two counts of grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and resisting arrest and will be arraigned when medically practical, according to police.
