2 Charged After Cop Struck in Long Island Hit-Run: Police

The suspects were finally caught inside a Target store, where they were trying to exchange a TV they'd just bought with a stolen credit card

Two people in a stolen SUV that hit and critically injured a Long Island police officer during a traffic stop on Monday afternoon were arrested after the alleged hit-and-run and a subsequent carjacking, police say.

Officials say two plainclothes officers pulled a Ford Explorer over on Partridge Lane in Huntington shortly after 1:30 p.m. and were hit and injured, one of them seriously.

The driver sped off. 

The suspects hit another vehicle at a gas station short distance away, then abandoned the Ford Explorer, according to police. They then carjacked a Toyota Camry on Dovecote Lane in Commack.

The suspects, 34-year-old Chad Morizsan and 22-year-old Nicholas Franzone, were both arrested in a Target in Central Islip.

Prosecutors said that's where the uncle and nephew brought a TV set using a stolen credit card.

"But are they satisfied with that? No. They decide the TV is too small so they go and try to exchange the TV," said Noel Gigerolamo of the Suffolk County PBA. 

The duo was caught inside the store. 

Police say Moriszan faces multiple charges, including assault on a police officer, leaving the scene of an accident, grand larceny in the theft of the Ford Explorer, leaving the scene of an accident in the second crash and petit larceny for allegedly stealing gas in the escape attempt and robbery in the Toyota theft. He was also charged with violating probation and in an unrelated larceny.

Moriszan was ordered held on $30 million bond after his arraignment Tuesday. 

Franzone is charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle for his role in the alleged carjacking, police say. He was held on $450,000 bond.

Their court-appointed attorneys did not comment.

The officer who was hit, 36-year-old Nicholas Guerrero, was airlifted to Stony Brook University Medical Center with a "very serious" head injury. He underwent surgery Tuesday and was listed in critical but stable condition in the neurosurgical intensive care unit, officials said.

The other officer was not badly hurt. 

Suffolk Police Commissioner Edward Webber said in a statement Guerrero joined the SCPD in 2010 and "because of his excellent interviewing skills, investigative abilities and strong ability to interact well with the public, he was assigned to the Second Precinct Crime Section after only four years."

"He is a true professional. Our thoughts are with him and his family and we pray for his full recovery,” Webber said.

A man who identified himself as a nephew of one of the suspects told NBC 4 New York his uncle "got into some really bad stuff" recently.

"Since I was 17, he's been my best friend, but up until this last year, I don't even know who he is anymore," said Devin McAllister, of Huntington.

Follow Greg Cergol on Twitter @GREGCERGOL4NY

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