(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Nina Cahill, 42, of Holtsville, was indicted for Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, and other related charges, for allegedly stealing a vehicle, using the vehicle to rob a bank, and then leading police officers through two car chases, including one that resulted in the injury of a Suffolk highway patrol officer.
“The defendant allegedly compounded her already serious crimes by recklessly attempting to evade responsibility by fleeing from police. In so doing, the defendant endangered passing motorists and ultimately injured a police officer,” said District Attorney Tierney. “The defendant will be held accountable for her alleged actions through the broad array of charges contained in this comprehensive indictment.”
According to the investigation, on September 4, 2024, Cahill allegedly stole a 2007 Toyota Corolla from the valet stand at the Stony Brook University Hospital Emergency Room. Two days later, on September 6, 2024, Cahill drove that stolen car to a bank in Selden where she allegedly passed a bank teller a note demanding all the money in the teller’s drawer. Cahill allegedly stole approximately $500 from that bank before fleeing the scene.
The following day, September 7, 2024, Cahill was involved in two separate high-speed pursuits throughout Suffolk County including the Long Island Expressway:
- First, at approximately 3:30 p.m., Cahill was driving the stolen car in Lake Ronkonkoma when police spotted her. When a Suffolk Police officer activated his lights to pull her over, Cahill allegedly fled at a high rate of speed. That pursuit had to be terminated for safety reasons.
- Later that same day, at approximately 7:30 p.m., Cahill was again spotted in the stolen Corolla, this time in a parking lot north of the Long Island Expressway near Exit 61. When police attempted to approach her, Cahill allegedly backed out of the parking space – into an unmarked police car – before she sped off toward Exit 61 of the westbound Long Island Expressway. Cahill then exited the LIE at Exit 60 to Express Drive North, reversed direction and then drove against traffic on the westbound lanes until Exit 61, where she re-entered the westbound LIE. She then drove on the LIE until she exited at Exit 58 and then again drove the wrong way on the westbound Express Drive North. At some point, she re-entered the LIE from an exit ramp and continued traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes. Cahill ultimately collided head-on with highway patrol car and then attempted to flee on foot before she was apprehended.
On September 24, 2024, Cahill was arraigned on the indictment before Acting Supreme Court Justice Anthony S. Senft, Jr., for the following charges contained in the indictment:
- Two Counts of Assault in the Second Degree, Class D violent felonies;
- One count of Robbery in the Third Degree, a Class D felony;
- One count of Reckless Endangerment in the First Degree, a Class D felony;
- One count of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fourth Degree, a Class E felony;
- One count of Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree, a Class E felony;
- One count of Reckless Endangerment in the Second Degree, a Class A misdemeanor;
- One count of Criminal Mischief in the Fourth Degree, a Class A misdemeanor;
- Two counts of Unlawful Fleeing of a Police Officer in the Third Degree, Class A misdemeanors;
- One count of Petit Larceny, a Class A misdemeanor; and
- Two counts of Reckless Driving, unclassified misdemeanors.
Justice Senft ordered Cahill be held on $100,000 cash, $200,000 bond, or $1,000,000 partially secured bond, during the pendency of the case. Cahill is due back in court on October 15, 2024. She is being represented by Chase Brown, Esq.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney James J. O’Rourke, IV of the Major Crime Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Detective Martin Lupo of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Major Case Unit and Detective Valerie Ashton of the Stony Brook University Police Department.
