When a Staten Island man decided to take the bus home early Monday morning, he hopped in the driver’s seat.
Nickolas Ellias, 20, was allegedly caught commandeering an MTA bus around 1:30 a.m. outside the Staten Island Ferry terminal and driving it more than a mile and a half, according to a criminal complaint.
Ellias was found behind the wheel of the idling bus on the corner of Targee Street and Broad Street, a few blocks from his Stapleton home, the complaint said.
The driver of the bus was on a break at the time Ellias allegedly rode off, according to MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz. The bus was tracked down using GPS, he said. Ellias faces grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and unauthorized use of a vehicle charges.
He pleaded not guilty in Staten Island criminal court and had his bail set at $10,000. He is due back in court Friday. Calls to his home and court-appointed attorney were not immediately returned.
