In 3rd Precinct, Residents, Police Join Forces

More graffiti. A string of armed muggings solved. A complaint about public drunkenness. A recent kidnapping arrest. A suggestion to create a 1-800 number for gang members who want out. An update on a string of recent murders. A heated exchange over crime rates and public perception.

Suffolk Police Third Precinct Inspector Jan Rios (L.) and Gang Unit Deputy Inspector Gerard Gigante speak at a recent community meeting.

These were among the topics discussed at the latest of a regular gathering at Suffolk County police’s Third Precinct in Bay Shore while politicians and police brass prepared for a larger meeting the following day [see video above] in response to an alarming string of murders and serious assaults in Brentwood and Central Islip in recent months. The meeting on the first Tuesday night of each month—a mix of neighborhood watch leaders, a rotating cast of local politicians, random concerned citizens peppered with a handful of first-time attendees—usually attracts about 30 people but the headcount nearly doubled this week after five murders in the same two communities last month, including a 19-year-old Hempstead woman and her 3-year-old son.

“Is there a gang war out there?” one man asked Inspector Jan Rios, the precinct’s commanding officer, who has fielded countless gang-related questions while running the monthly get-togethers. Rios offered the expertise of his guest speaker, Deputy Inspector Gerard Gigante, head of the Patrol Special Operations Bureau, better known as the Gang Unit.

“It could be a couple of people in a group,” Gigante said, noting that it’s possible that some of the recent violence could be linked. “It’s not that the gang problem is any worse than it was a couple of years ago, it’s just that there were more violent crimes in a short period of time.”

Knowing that this may be of little consolation, he added as a silver lining: “I don’t think it’s going to get worse before it gets better.” Still, neither he nor Rios could comment on the open homicide investigations.

Despite the bloodshed, Rios had some good news: The commissioner is flooding the precinct with a new unit targeting crime hotspots, buttressing patrols with officers from other bureaus and adding more gang and narcotics investigators. The plan also includes increased electronic street surveillance, parking a police info van at various locations to provide community outreach and trying to inspire more Neighborhood Watch groups to form.

Rios, who reports making 18 arrests in the first week that he has had the backup, notes that fear may be overblown because news spreads faster nowadays. “If anything happens anywhere now, everyone knows about it,” he said. “It’s not as bad as the media would have you believe.”

But for a room that usually shares a laugh over the absurd incidents that happen in between the scary stuff—the robber who said, “Sorry, it’s a recession,” or the cockfight organizer who was outed by a houseful of crowing birds—this month’s meeting was a bit testier than usual.

“I’ve been here 44 years and this is the worst I’ve ever seen it,” said Daniel Albizu, a local realtor, who also sympathized with the officers’ caseload. Seated next to the coffee and pastry table in the back row of the packed room in the stationhouse basement, one woman did not sugarcoat her grave concerns.

“It is a warzone, I’m afraid to leave my house, my grown children are afraid, we don’t want to be next,” she said, pointedly asking Rios what he is doing to stop the violence.

“A warzone? It’s not a nonstop gunfight in the streets here,” he said, perturbed at the hyperbole. He added that while he could not speak to current investigations, in prior assault and murder cases, oftentimes the victim’s “lifestyle catches up with them” and rarely do innocent bystanders get caught in the crossfire.

Amid the back-and-forth, one first-time attendee interjected with a relative softball question about what can be done about a group of men who are always drunk behind a strip mall near her home. “That’s an easy one,” Rios said, clearly relieved that there were some lighter issues to tackle as well.

While most of the seven precincts have similar monthly meetings, Rios recalls a far smaller turnout in his old assignment in the Sixth Precinct on Brookhaven’s north shore. He credits the higher turnout with the more serious crime issues that the Third Precinct faces. Usually meetings deal with smaller problems, such as paintball shootings, frequently-ignored stop signs and lots of graffiti.

It can be a bit cathartic for some folks who just vent, and provides some positive feedback for the police too—at least one attendee per meeting offers thanks for solving a prior problem. Even a few Neighborhood Watches have broken out. But sometimes the issues raised are too small for the police.

“One of the reasons why I go there is to have a relationship with the police department,” said Jason Mistretta, a senior code enforcement investigator for the Town of Islip, one of the regular attendees, who helps with quality of life issues. “I can say to them, ‘This is a problem I’m having, you want to come along with me? Maybe we can make an impact.’ Just the perception of, ‘Oh my god, now the police and the town are knocking on my door,’ it’s very helpful.”

Although tensions may currently be running high, some regular attendees remain pragmatic. Said one woman, who asked that her name not be used: “We can’t eradicate crime, but we can keep chipping away at it.”

Third  Precinct 911: The big cases in the past year

Open cases,  as of press time

Feb. 5: 19-year-old Vanessa Argueta and her 14-month-old son, Diego, were fatally shot in Central Islip.

Feb. 12: Kevin Peirson, 38, was fatally stabbed inside his Central Islip home.

Feb. 17: David Sandler, 20, was fatally shot outside of his Brentwood home and his brother in law was seriously injured.

Feb. 27: Alexander Santos Argueta-Ventura, 24, of Huntington Station, was fatally stabbed in Brentwood.

2009

Aug. 21: Angel Liciaga, 67, was fatally stabbed in his Central Islip apartment.

Sept. 12: Two masked robbers shot and killed Miguel Peralta, 57, while he worked at Brentwood grocery store.

Nov. 20: Christopher Hamilton, 15, was fatally shot outside of a house near his Brentwood home.

Arrests made (all 2009)

May 26: Dexter Acheampong, 24, of Medford, was fatally shot in Central Islip. Edwin Ortiz, 19, an alleged MS 13 member from Brentwood, was charged with his murder.

June 15: Wilson Batista, 13, was shot in the head at Timberline Park in Brentwood. He is still recovering. J Alexander Aguilar, 18, an alleged MS 13 member from Deer Park, was charged with assault.

July 20: Edgar Villalobos, 28, of Bay Shore, was fatally shot and stabbed in Brentwood. Jose Gomez Amaya, 20, an alleged MS 13 member from Central Islip, was charged with his murder, as was Aguilar and Ortiz.

Aug. 11: Mykier Daniels, 31, of Central Islip, her sister Katrice Daniels, 28, of Wyandanch and 19-year-old Louis Calixto, were killed inside Daniels’ home, which was then set on fire. Hasan Vaughan and Thomas Singletary, both 33 and from Central Islip, are each charged with arson. Vaughan was also charged with first-degree murder.

Dec. 30: Valentino Sanchez, 21, was found stabbed to death inside his Brentwood home. Deighton Reed, 20, was charged with his murder.

SCPD Community Meetings

1st Precinct 555 Route 109, Lindenhurst: Third Tuesday, 7 p.m. (schedule subject to change)
2nd Precinct 1071 Park Ave, Huntington: No public meetings scheduled.
3rd Precinct 1630 5th Ave, Bay Shore: First Tuesday, 7 p.m.
4th Precinct 345 Old Willets Path, Hauppauge: Dates TBA
5th Precinct 125 Waverly Ave, Patchogue: First Tuesday, 7 p.m.
6th Precinct Route 25 / Middle Country Rd, Coram: Dates TBA
7th Precinct 1419 William Floyd Parkway, Shirley: Third Thursday, 7p.m.