Man Indicted on 19 Felonies in 'Crime Wave'

A man with ties to North Sea pleaded not guilty Thursday morning to 14 third-degree burglaries and five second-degree armed robberies, including two in which prosecutors say he brandished a silver gun — which turned out to be a starter's pistol — in front of children no older than 12.

Authorities say that, after two Suffolk County police officers arrested him March 25 in Central Islip, Ronnie Lacaliano, 29, confessed to going on a crime spree at businesses in the Brentwood and Central Islip area starting in November 2011 to feed his crack and alcohol addictions and send money to family to Honduras.

“The people’s case is very strong, your honor,” Assistant District Attorney Michelle Chiuchiolo told Judge James F.X. Doyle during the arraignment at the in Riverside. She said evidence includes surveillance videos and fingerprints, and blood samples are being tested at the Suffolk County Crime Lab. In his confession, he detailed his points of entry and the proceeds of each robbery and burglary, Chiuchiolo added.

He is accused of robbing a nail salon, bakery, chiropractic office, tax service office and phone store.  At one robbery, Lacaliano pushed a 12-year-old off a stool, Chiuchiolo told the judge.

Prosecutors said he stole cash, credit cards, checkbooks and laptops, netting more than $13,000. And more charges are expected in the near future.

In requesting that bail be set at $350,000 cash or $500,000 bond, Chiuchiolo said Lacaliano is a legal U.S. resident from Honduras, “with no ties to Suffolk County,” who will be subject to deportation if convicted of a felony.

Lacaliano's Legal Aid attorney, Lani Houston, argued that Lacaliano does, in fact, have connections to Suffolk County, including his mother, wife and a child. She said he has health problems, including his addiction, and a very limited criminal history. Outside the courtroom, Houston said Lacaliano has in the past been charged with petty larceny and minor drug offenses. He has four children in Honduras, has lived in Suffolk County for nine years and has family members living in Southampton, she said.

Chiuchiolo had said Lacaliano is homeless, living at abandoned homes and businesses, but Houston said Lacaliano told Suffolk County Probation he is living on Connecticut Avenue in Bay Shore. According to Houston, he was working for a shipping company in Bay Shore until four months ago.

Doyle ultimately set bail at $200,000 cash or $400,000 bond.

Lacaliano's alleged crimes were spread among three Suffolk County police precincts, the First, Third and Fourth.

At a press conference following the arraignment, Third Precint Police Officers Timothy Drake and Michael Cammarata said they arrested Lacaliano in Central Islip during routine patrol when they recognized him from surveillance video taken at crime scenes they responded to two days prior.

“He didn’t say much when he was arrested,” Cammarata said. “He feigned confusion because he was being deceptive about his name.”

According to the grand jury indictment, Lacaliano is also known as “Ronnie Laca.”

Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota credited Acting Suffolk County Police Commissioner Edward Webber’s implementation of "data-driven policing" with leading to this arrest and others in recent months. He said that information sharing among precincts and squads enables police to recognize crime patterns even when robberies and burglaries take place in different precincts.

According to the indictment, Lacaliano’s burglary victims in Brentwood include Brentwood Pediatric on Wicks Road; Brentwood Chiropractic on Second Street; Metro PCS on Islip Avenue; Precision Driving School, La Naturaliza and Brentwood Florist on Suffolk Avenue; L.I. Comprehensive Care and Metro PCS on Brentwood Road; and Pollo Campero Restaurant on Fifth Avenue. In Central Islip was The Real Muffler Shop on Carleton Avenue; Aquarius Bar and Eagle Auto on West Suffolk Avenue; and Budget Laundry on Islip Avenue. He also burglarized Fifth Avenue Auto on Fifth Avenue Auto in Bay Shore, the indictment states.