Drone Strikes JetBlue Flight At 3,000 Feet Near JFK, Pilot Says
A drone collided with a JetBlue flight landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Monday morning, June 29, according to the aircraft’s pilot.
The pilot alerted air traffic controllers at JFK of the collision around 7:15 a.m. at about 3,000 feet in the air, according to audio obtained by WABC.
“We collided with a drone back there in the turn as we were coming to ASALT, just wanted to pass to you,” the pilot said, according to WABC reporting.
“You said you collided?” the controller responded.
“Yup, it hit us, right above the cockpit,” the pilot confirmed.
However, the pilot said f…
$2.5M Medicaid Fraudster Lived In Hewlett Large While Families Struggled To Eat: Prosecutors
A Long Island man who pulled off $2.5 million Medicaid fraud and spent the money on luxury cars and a Nassau County mansion has been arrested, authorities said.
Nduka Lewis Ekpenyong, a 36-year-old Hewlett man, submitted more than 6,000 claims for a children’s health product, but 90% of the filings were fraudulent, New York Attorney General Letitia James said Monday, June 29.
However, Medicaid reimbursed Ekpenyong for $2,531,194, the vast majority of which Ekpenyong pocketed for his own purposes, prosecutors said.
“While Nduka Ekpenyong was buying luxury cars with money he allegedly stole …
Road To Nowhere: Shirley Man's Police Escape Ends In Wrecked Getaway, Cops Say
A Long Island man attempted to flee police on Saturday night, June 27 but instead crashed his car into a fence, authorities said.
Camari Isaiah Ziegler, 22, was spotted violating traffic laws around 11 p.m. Saturday on County Road 39 in Southampton, and cops tried to pull him over, the Southampton Town Police Department said.
But instead, Ziegler accelerated and fled the scene, “operating recklessly while attempting to evade police,” the department announced Sunday, June 28.
Ziegler, of Shirley, didn’t make it far, however, leaving the road and slamming into a fence, police said. He was ch…
Fourth Time Suffolk Drunk Driver Convicted Again, This Time With 0.22 BAC: Authorities
A Long Island man with three prior DWI convictions has been found guilty again after prosecutors said he drove drunk with a blood-alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit.
Walter Danilo Perez Sanchez, 42, was convicted Wednesday, May 27, for his latest drunk escapade, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office announced.
The case began as an assault investigation, after a witness reported three men fighting in a parking lot in Huntington Station on March 20, 2025, prosecutors said.
But officers arrived to find Perez Sanchez, of Huntington Station, smelling of alcohol with bloods…
Dog Intentionally Scalded By Abusive Gansevoort Owner Seeking To Cause Pain: Police
A Capital Region woman has been arrested for scalding her dog with an unknown substance multiple times, causing devastating burns and an infection, police said Thursday, May 28.
Vanessa French, 57, first encountered police around 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, May 20 following a disturbance call on Saratoga Road in Moreau, the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office said.
Investigators determined French, of Gansevoort, had intentionally injured her companion dog with the substance on more than one occasion, authorities said.
She was arrested Tuesday, May 26 on a charge of aggravated cruelty to animals and …
100 Grams Of Cocaine Found In Greenville Traffic Stop, Heroin Found At Home: Cops
Two Capital Region residents were busted with more than 100 grams of cocaine in a traffic stop, police said.
Joshua Weisinger and Kimberly Loucks, both 43, were also found in possession of heroin, crack cocaine, and drug paraphernalia following a search of their residence in Durham, the Greene County Sheriff’s Office said.
Weisinger and Loucks were driving through Greenville on State Route 32 when they were pulled over, authorities said. At the stop, Weisinger had 54 grams of cocaine and Loucks had 58 grams, according to police.
The duo was each charged with third-degree drug possession, w…
Armed And Arrested: Capital District Man Nabbed After Gun Threat Complaint In Cohoes, Cops Say
A Capital District man accused of threatening another person with a gun was arrested Wednesday, May 27, police said.
Loren Durkee, 42, was found in Cohoes inside a truck behind a residence on Main Street, the Cohoes Police Department said. He was arrested without incident.
Cops found a Browning Arms Buck Mark .22 Long Rifle Pistol on Durkee, along with three loaded magazines with a total of 36 bullets, authorities said. Investigators also found 0.2 grams of methamphetamine on Durkee, according to police.
Durkee, of Troy, was charged with second-degree menacing, five felony weapons charges,…