A Riverhead man is facing a felony assault charge in connection with the beating of a woman with a golf club on Lewis Street earlier this month.
Riverhead Police said Lonnie Pray, 53, was arrested yesterday afternoon and charged with second-degree assault for allegedly beating a woman on Lewis Street in Riverhead at 3:20 a.m. on Aug. 17.
“The female victim was punched in the face and struck several times in the back of her head with a golf club,” Riverhead Police Sgt. Sean Egan said. The assault caused lacerations that required medical treatment, he said. She was transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center by Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
Pray was held for morning arraignment in Riverhead Justice Court, police said. Second-degree assault is a class D felony.
Pray, who has a criminal record of drug and weapon convictions dating back to 1990, according to online state correction department records, is currently on parole for a 2010 conviction for attempted sale of a controlled substance. According to state he was released on Oct. 2, 2013, after serving nearly three years in state prison. He was arrested by Riverhead Police on a harassment charge the very next day. In February, Pray pleaded guilty to possession of an open alcohol container in public and was sentenced to 15 days in the county jail.
Editor’s note: A criminal charge is an accusation. By law, a person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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