A Calverton man pleaded guilty to Attempted Murder in the Second Degree and other related charges, for opening fire at a candlelight vigil in Bellport in July 2023, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney announced today.
Steven Reid, 27, was also convicted of Assault in the Second Degree for his unprovoked attack on a correction officer in December 2023 while in custody on the charges related to the July 2023 incident, the district attorney’s office said in a press release.
“This defendant viciously opened fire on an unsuspecting community gathered to mourn the loss of a loved one,” Tierney said. “The defendant then continued his violent behavior while in custody, assaulting an unsuspecting corrections officer just trying to do his job.”
On July 6, 2023, more than 100 people gathered in Bellport to celebrate the life of a community member who had died in a motorcycle accident days before, Tierney said. At the end of the candlelight vigil, Reid became involved in a physical altercation with another man who attended the vigil. He pulled out a gun and shot the man at point-blank range in the upper right thigh.
“The bullet shattered the man’s femur, passed through his leg, and lodged into his right shin. Vigil attendees placed a tourniquet on the man’s leg and rushed him to the hospital where he underwent emergency orthopedic surgery to replace his shattered femur with metal rods and pins. Minutes later, Reid followed the dispersing crowd and opened fire on another group of vigil attendees. Reid allegedly shot at one man from close range. That victim suffered four gunshot wounds, including gunshot wounds to his back, shoulder, and both of his legs. Immediately thereafter, Reid opened fire at an adult female two times and then shot at another group of people, including a woman and a nine-year old boy, as they were running away to a nearby residence,” the press release said.
Reid fled Suffolk County and was apprehended in North Carolina in September 2023, and was brought back to Suffolk County to face charges, according to the release.
On December 19, 2023, while in custody at the Suffolk County Correctional Facility, Reid assaulted a 26-year-old correction officer by hitting the officer several times without provocation, the release said.
Reid pleaded guilty today before Supreme Court Justice Anthony Senft to: Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, a Class B violent felony; Assault in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony; Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, a Class C violent felony; and Assault in the Second Degree, a Class D violent felony.
Reid is due back in court for sentencing on May 22, and is expected to be sentenced to 14 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.
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