Cops charge man with felony assault after fight at Riverhead group home

A resident of a group home on Roanoke Avenue is facing a felony assault charge after a fight that sent another resident to the hospital last night.

Riverhead Police charged Nicholas Lobianco, 35, with Assault in the Second Degree, after a physical altercation that caused laceration and puncture wounds to James Meahan, 39. Both men are residents of a home operated by Community Housing Innovations at 624 Roanoke Avenue in Riverhead, police said.

Meahan was transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center by the Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corp for treatment of injuries police said appeared to be non-life threatening. He was kept in the hospital overnight for observation, police said.

Lobianco was taken into custody and held for morning arraignment in Riverhead Justice Court.

Police were already at the scene of the residence in response to a call just before 10 p.m. about another physical dispute at the home that sent another resident to the hospital for treatment of a minor injury, according to a press release issued this morning.

Officers responding to that call were alerted by residence staff that a second physical altercation involving two male residents was taking place in a second floor bedroom there, according to the release. Officers responded to the second floor and determined there had been an altercation between Lobianco and Meahan, police said. Further investigation by the detective division resulted in the arrest of Lobianco, according to the report.

No arrests were made as a result of the first incident reported at the home.

The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information pertaining to the incident is asked to contact the Riverhead Police Department at (631) 727-4500.

<strong>Editor’s note: A criminal charge is an accusation. A person charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.</strong>