Man Rams Police Cars In Hauppauge; 2 Officers Hurt: PD

HAUPPAUGE, NY — A 32-year-old man was arrested Saturday afternoon in Hauppauge after Suffolk police said he led officers on a chase and rammed two police cruisers.

Officers from the Fourth Precinct were investigating Theodore Martinez for a Lake Ronkonkoma robbery and conducting surveillance on his home when Martinez recognized the detectives and fled in a car around 5 p.m., police said.

Martinez crashed into a marked police car near the intersection of Old Nichols Road and Motor Parkway then hit an unmarked police vehicle, police said. He was arrested after striking the original police car a second time, police said.

A police officer and a detective suffered minor injuries.

Martinez was charged with second-degree robbery, assault and other charges. His mother, Loretta Martines, 57, was a passenger in his vehicle. She was arrested and charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance.

The robbery occurred on Friday in Lake Ronkonkoma, police said. Martinez was hanging out in a group when he pushed a man and stole cash from him, police said.

Martinez will be arraigned Sunday morning at First District Court in Central Islip.