Bay Shore Man Found Guilty of Possessing Illegal Handgun: DA

BAY SHORE, NY — A Bay Shore man was found guilty on Thursday, of possessing an unserialized gun, after an altercation with a neighbor where police were called in, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced.

Timothy Garcia, 32, was convicted of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and related charges in a jury trial, before Supreme Court Justice, the Honorable Timothy P. Mazzei.

“If you carry illegal guns in Suffolk County and you are caught, we will seek a significant prison
sentence,” said District Attorney Tierney. “Fortunately, the police officers responded to this call
quickly and no one was significantly injured.”

On May 27, 2022, Garcia had a dispute with a neighbor at his former residence in Bohemia, according to the evidence established at trial. Suffolk Police then responded to a 911 call reporting a man holding a firearm and a broken glass door.

When police arrived and attempted to arrest Garcia, he refused to comply with their commands and a struggle ensued, prosecutors said.

During that altercation, Police Officer Gina Lauricella noticed a handgun on the defendant’s waistband. She alerted her fellow officers and removed the gun from his waistband, along with two additional illegal magazines.

The gun removed from Garcia’s waistband was unserialized, with 13 rounds of ammunition in the magazine and one round in the chamber, prosecutors said.

The two additional magazines were recovered and each had 13 rounds of ammunition. After his arrest, police also recovered a switchblade from the front right pocket of Garcia’s pants.

Garcia was convicted of the following charges:

• Second-degree criminal possession of a weapon
• Three counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon
• One count of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon
• Resisting arrest

"If you carry illegal guns in Suffolk County and you are caught, we will seek a significant prison
sentence," said Tierney. "Fortunately, the police officers responded to this call quickly and no one was significantly injured."

Garcia is due back in court on Dec. 13, 2023, for sentencing. He faces up to 15 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision, Tierney's office said.

He represented himself during the trial.

Patch reached out to Christopher Brocato, Garcia's legal advisor, for comment.