Smithtown Man Arrested For Stealing Gas From 16 Gas Stations

Walter AmerbachSuffolk County Police arrested a Smithtown man last evening for stealing gasoline from 16 gas stations throughout Suffolk County.

During the past four months, the suspect pulled up to gas station pumps throughout Suffolk County in a 2006 Jeep Grand Cherokee and asked the attendant to fill the tank. When the tank was full, the suspect drove off without paying.

After a gasoline theft on February 26 at the Wave Gas Station located at 386 Lake Ave. in St. James, Fourth Precinct Crime Section put out a notification with the description and plate number of the vehicle.

A Third Precinct sector car located the vehicle at the Planet Fitness gym, 894A Sunrise Highway, Bay Shore. Walter Amerbach, 21, was taken into custody and transported to the Fourth Precinct. Amerbach, of Smithtown, was charged with 11 counts of Petit Larceny.

He will be arraigned today at First District Court in Central Islip.

A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.