Local teen battles cops, local man fights for recovery

Teen gets violent, resists arrest
Nassau County police arrested a Lakeview teen for attempting to break into cars and resisting arrest.

Witnesses saw 16-year-old James Wells-Jones attempting to break into two cars unsuccessfully around 4 p.m. on June 14, according to police. The teen had walked away from the vehicles when officers responded to the scene, but had remained in the area. Upon police arrival, Wells-Jones fled the scene, police said.

Officers located him hiding by a set of steps in a rear yard on Melvin Avenue. They said he became violent and started flailing his arms and punching officers in order to avoid arrest; a police officer dislocated his finger during the struggle.

Wells-Jones was finally arrested and charged with second-degree assault, resisting arrest, attempted petit larceny and two counts of third-degree criminal trespass. He was arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead on June 15.

Pedestrian struck on Sunrise Highway
Nassau County Homicide detectives were on the scene of a pedestrian accident that critically injured a 25-year old Lakeview man who had been crossing Sunrise Highway just before midnight on Wednesday.

According to detectives, a 1998 Ford Explorer driven by John Tobin, 23, of Robert Street, Freeport, was traveling east in the right lane of Sunrise Highway. Police said that after hitting the man, who had been walking south across the highway, Tobin’s SUV collided with the center median, causing it to overturn. It came to rest on its roof in the westbound lanes of Sunrise Highway.

The victim, who lives on Langdon Boulevard, was taken to South Nassau Communities Hospital where he was listed in critical condition with two fractured legs and internal injuries. Police said the driver of the SUV was not injured.

Tobin was charged with vehicular assault and two counts of driving while intoxicated. He was arraigned on Thursday in First District Court in Hempstead.