A father left his running SUV outside a Brentwood smoke shop Tuesday afternoon with his 6-year-old and 5-year-old children sitting inside when, police said, a man climbed into the driver’s seat and attempted to drive away.
The father spotted the man entering the vehicle and sprinted back with a store employee, trying to pull him from the SUV before Suffolk County police arrived and made an arrest.
According to police, the incident occurred at approximately 4:45 p.m. outside Bougatfa Zero smoke shop, located at 656 Suffolk Ave. in Brentwood. Authorities said Mustafa Attia entered the running 2025 Volkswagen after the children’s father went into the store.
Police said Attia refused to leave the vehicle despite the father’s efforts to remove him. Multiple people called 911, and responding Third Precinct officers found Attia still seated in the driver’s seat when they arrived. Officers then removed him from the SUV and took him into custody.
Attia, 23, of Ronkonkoma, was charged with Attempted Grand Larceny, two counts of Endangering the Welfare of a Child and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree.
He was transported to South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore for evaluation and is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip at a later date.
The charges are accusations, and Attia is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
