Phony detective nabbed

According to police, a Hicksville man was arrested after allegedly posing as a detective and luring an 18-year-old female into his vehicle on Merrick Avenue in Westbury.

The suspect, Gregory Castaneda, 24, of Hicksville, stopped his 1999 Acura along Merrick Avenue in Westbury at about 3:15 a.m. on Sept. 18, identified himself to the female victim as a detective, and offered her a ride home, police said. Third Squad detectives said the victim accepted the ride offer, and she was driven to her home in Carle Place.

Later that day, at 10:30 p.m., Castaneda then apparently returned to the home, entered through an unlocked front door, and was confronted by the victim’s father, police said, and was provided with the victim’s workplace location after identifying himself as a police detective. Shortly after, Castaneda went to the victim’s workplace and identified himself as a detective, but when asked for a badge, he was unable to produce one, cops said.

After an investigation, police said the defendant was identified and surrendered to detectives at the Third Precinct Stationhouse in Williston Park. He was charged with Burglary 2nd Degree and Criminal Impersonation 2nd Degree. He was arraigned in First District Court, Hempstead on Monday. A judge ordered Castaneda held on $20,000 cash or $10,000 bond, which had not posted as the Herald went to press. He was scheduled to appear again in court on Wednesday.

People named in Crime Watch items as having been arrested and charged with violations or crimes are only suspected of committing those acts of which they are accused. They are all presumed to be innocent of those charges until and unless found guilty in a court of law.