A Holbrook woman was indicted for allegedly forcibly stealing a car in East Setauket and injuring its owner in the process.
On September 11 at approximately 10:45 a.m., the 84-year-old victim exited her running 2013 Subaru Forester in an East Setauket Walmart parking lot to move a shopping cart that was blocking a parking spot.
During the time it took to move the shopping cart, Dareine R. Heller allegedly entered the vehicle, and the victim unsuccessfully tried to remove the keys from the ignition and her purse from the front passenger seat. When Heller fled in the stolen vehicle, she allegedly knocked the victim to the ground, dragged her, hit a parked car, and knocked down a pole.
The victim was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital, where she received treatment for her injuries, which included a head laceration that required staples, cuts to her leg that required stitches, severe bruising, as well as significant road rash. When Heller was arrested a few hours later, she allegedly had the keys to the stolen vehicle in her pocket.
On October 3, Heller, 34, was arraigned on the indictment before Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins for two counts of Robbery in the Second Degree, a Class C violent felony, one count of Assault in the Second Degree, a Class D violent felony, and one count of Leaving the Scene of an Incident Without Reporting, an infraction.
Collins ordered Heller held without bail. Heller is due back in court on November 12 and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted on the top count.
“As alleged in the indictment, this was a brutal and senseless crime that left an elderly woman seriously injured and traumatized,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “My office is committed to pursuing justice on her behalf and holding the defendant fully accountable under the law. Acts of violence against our most vulnerable citizens are a travesty and will not be tolerated in this county.”