Uber Driver Pleads Guilty In Death Of Teen

Danyal Cheema of Huntington Station, left, pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter after a 15-year-old passenger fell while car-surfing and later died from his injuries.Photo/Suffolk DA

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

An Uber driver who was at the wheel when a Cold Spring Harbor teen fell off the roof of his car in September pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter last week.

Suffolk prosecutors said Danyal Cheema, 24, of Huntington Station entered the plea on April 18 at the state Supreme Court building in Central Islip.

Cheema was working as an Uber driver when he picked up three boys, including 15-year-old Ryan Mullen, in his 2010 Toyota Highlander just after midnight on Sept. 23, 2018.

While Cheema was driving the teens to a house in Huntington, prosecutors said they asked Cheema for permission to “car surf” on the roof of his car while it was moving.

After initially offering him $70 cash, the passengers ultimately paid Cheema $40 and he allowed them to climb onto the roof of the vehicle while stopped at an intersection on Cove Road in Huntington, prosecutors said. Two of the teens rode on the roof of the SUV while the third captured a video of the incident on Snapchat.

Mullen, a student at St. Anthony’s High School, fell off of the vehicle as it was moving and hit his head on the roadway.

Prosecutors said Ryan Mullens died at home as a result of injuries sustained in the fall from the Uber’s roof.

Prosecutors said the teens got back in the car and Cheema drove them the rest of the way to their destination, where Mullen later died in his sleep from “severe head trauma.”

“This was a tragic incident that could have been avoided had the defendant not conducted himself in such a reckless manner,” Suffolk District Attorney Tim Sini said.

In a statement through their attorney, Ryan’s parents Janice and Matthew Mullen said they welcomed Cheema’s guilty plea and would continue to grow the “Strive for Five” foundation they have established to honor Ryan’s memory.

Cheema faces a minimum of 10 months in prison plus five years of post-release supervision when he is sentenced by Suffolk County Acting Supreme Court Justice Fernando Camacho. Prosecutors said he will be sentenced at a later date.

Chief Commends Officer's "Extraordinary Restraint"

Village police arrested a Northport man who confronted two officers holding a shotgun and a knife. Northport Ville PD photos

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

A Northport man was arrested last week after he pointed a loaded gun at officers during a tense standoff, according to Northport police.

Police said officers were called to a tenant dispute at around 11:45 p.m., April 18 in a building with multiple apartments at 149 Fort Salonga Road in the Village of Northport.

The first officer to arrive spoke with the complainant, who police say was bleeding from the mouth. The victim told officers Logan Arens, who lives in the basement apartment, had punched him in the face, according to police.
Two Northport officers headed for the basement stairs to find Arens, and as they opened the basement door the officers encountered Arens coming up the stairs with a rifle in his left hand and a butcher knife in his right, according to police.

Police said Arens, 22, pointed the rifle up the stairs at the lead officer who drew his service weapon and ordered the suspect to drop the gun, which authorities later identified as a .22-caliber rifle that was loaded with one round in the chamber and eight in the magazine. Arens hesitated momentarily, but did drop the gun, according to police.

The officer then ordered Arens to drop the knife, and after four commands he finally put the knife down, police said. He was taken into custody without further incident.

“This is a situation that very well may have ended much differently,” Northport Police Chief Bill Ricca said. “The officer used an extraordinary amount of restraint and brought it to a conclusion without a tragic outcome.”

Police charged Arens with menacing a police officer, second-degree harassment and two counts of fourth-degree criminal procession of a weapon. He was arraigned in Northport Village Court and released on $5,000 bail. He is due back in court this week.

Town Board Hikes Parking Meter Fees

Cars parked on Wall Street near the intersection with Main Street in Huntington village. The town board voted Tuesday to increase parking fees on side streets in the village. Long Islander News photo/Connor Beach

By Connor Beach
cbeach@longislandergroup.com

It’s going to get a little more expensive to park on some streets in Huntington village.

The Huntington town board approved Tuesday an increase in parking rates for metered spots on many of the village’s side streets.

The resolution, sponsored by Councilman Eugene Cook and seconded by Supervisor Chad Lupinacci, increases the fee to park on streets like Green, New and West Carver Streets from 50 cents per hour to $1 per hour. Parking rates on the village’s side streets will now match the cost to park on higher trafficked Main Street and New York Avenue.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Cook said. “Parking was different on some streets, and this equals it out.”

The fee increase was passed 3-2. Councilman Ed Smyth voted with Cook and Lupinacci to approve the increase, while Councilwoman Joan Cergol and Mark Cuthbertson opposed it.

Cuthbertson said he felt the town should not increase parking fees “until we as a board take more concrete steps towards acquiring more parking spaces.”

Cergol, referring to a 2013 parking study by consulting firm Nelson\Nygaard, said the fee increase “runs completely counter to what that recommendation was.”

In their report, Nelson/Nygaard recommended the town charged $1 per hour to park on core blocks along New York Avenue and Main Street and $.50 per hour on blocks within the area bounded by High Street, Prospect Street, Gerard Street and Myrtle Avenue.

Cook said he didn’t feel there is a need to distinguish between these “primary” and “secondary” streets for parking rates. He said it doesn’t make sense that a driver could pay a lower rate if they simply turned the corner from Main Street onto Wall Street.

The fee increase comes after a recent announcement by Lupinacci that the Department of Public Safety created a new Parking Enforcement Team (PET) in downtown Huntington village on March 1.

Town officials said between March 1 and April 10 the PET, two full-time and occasional part-time officers, have issued 3,303 parking summonses worth a face value of $233,935.

“We’ve had virtually no negative feedback from the public since we rolled out our Parking Enforcement Team and summons numbers are up over 100 percent,” Public Safety Director Peter Sammis said in a statement. “I think people are relieved to see the enforcement of parking rules, especially when there has been abuse of parking for so long.”

The town board unanimously passed Tuesday a new law requiring drivers to respond to a ticket within 30 days. Penalties for ignoring a parking ticket will include a default judgment, nonrenewal of New York State motor vehicle registration or booting a car.

The new parking enforcement law takes effect on July 1.