Cops: Homeless Man Flees Scene In Taxi After Stealing TV

A homeless man was arrested after a police investigation that involved a taxi and a K-9 unit early Sunday morning, police authorities.

According to Riverhead Town police, a call came in at 3:59 a.m. Sunday morning from a Horton Avenue resident stating that a subject had forcibly entered the residence and removed a television set.

The suspect was reported to have fled the scene along with another subject in a Hampton Town Taxi. 

Patrol officers located the taxi a short while later on Flanders Road in Riverside when the taxi driver attempted to leave the area, police said.

Following a traffic stop on Riverleigh Avenue in Riverside, the driver of the taxi, Howard Ferebee, 28, of Riverhead was arrested and charged with burglary in the second degree, robbery in the second degree, and criminal mischief in the third degree, police said. He was taken into custody.

The passenger in the taxi, Tremel Kelly, 20, who police said is undomiciled, allegedly fled the scene on foot.

Kelly was located a short time later with the assistance of a K9 unit, hiding in a nearby hotel room at the Budget Host Inn in Riverside, police said.

He was arrested and charged with burglary in the second degree, robbery in the second degree, and criminal facilitation in the fourth degree. Police said he was taken into custody without incident.

Proceeds from the robbery were located in the taxi.

Both subjects were transported to the Riverhead town police department, where they were processed and held for arraignment.