LI Man Nabbed Saturday Outside Grocery Store Charged In Connection With 2020 Attempted Murder: Attorney

LONG ISLAND, NY — A man who Suffolk police arrested Saturday outside of a grocery store in Mastic Beach was charged with attempted murder in connection with a December 2020 shooting in Huntington Station, his attorney said Thursday.

Suffolk police initially told Patch they believed the man is "part of other ongoing investigations involving violence" and was known to be wanted on multiple charges.

He was arrested while officers were on "routine patrol" in Mastic Beach in connection with the theft and use of a stolen credit card, a department spokesperson said Wednesday.

Tyshawn Lopez, 25, was charged with fourth-degree grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property in connection with a credit card that was stolen out of a locker at LA Fitness in Port Jefferson Station on Jan. 7 and then used multiple times, police said.

Details of Lopez's involvement in ongoing investigations involving violence were not released for "investigative reasons," police said.

Lopez was also charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property in connection with using a stolen credit card on Dec. 13, 2024, according to police. It is not clear where the card was stolen from.

He was additionally charged in connection with fourth-degree criminal mischief for a domestic incident on Aug. 11 that took place in Mastic Beach, police said.

A photo of Lopez's arrest was posted to a community group on Facebook, prompting the brass at the 7th Precinct in Shirley to dispel any rumors that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were involved by addressing them in a post on social media.

The Instagram post read: "*** ICE was NOT involved in this arrest***Excellent work by the 7th Precinct Anti-Crime Unit in apprehending a subject wanted for violent crimes. The Suffolk County Police Department remains steadfast in its commitment to protecting and serving our community."

Lopez pleaded not guilty to the charges of grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, and criminal mischief, online court records show.

The records show that Lopez was charged in connection with an incident on Dec. 15, 2020.

Patch has reached out to the Suffolk District Attorney's office.

Defense attorney, Steven Politi, of Central Islip, told Patch that has been working on the case six days and that his client was arrested and charged with "various crimes" — one of them is attempted murder in what is believed to be a gang-related shooting in Huntington Station, he said.

"I don't know how they're going to prove this case," he added. "I don't know, if it's true. I don't know if they have video. I don't know if they have witnesses. I don't know what they have. I know that it took them five years to make the arrest for whatever reason. I'm sure they have a valid reason."

In response to the credit card allegations, Politi said he does not have discovery yet and does not know if the allegations are true or not.

"We'll find out what's true, what's not true," he said. "My client's presumed innocent. My client's innocent until proven guilty. That's the stance that we're taking. I don't know enough about the case at this juncture to make any intelligent comments about our strategy or our defense. I don't even know if they got the right guy. Okay, so that's my job to come up with the facts and do my investigation and see where we're at."

Politi could not offer many specifics about the charges brought against Lopez.

"At this juncture, I don't have anything to say regarding the specifics, except that it's a five-year-old case, so obviously you wonder what took five years?" he said. "How many other suspects did they think were guilty of this? How many hours have they spent trying to find a person who's been in Suffolk County for five straight years? I don't know we're going to find that out over the coming days."

Lopez pleaded not guilty to the charges at his arraignment on Saturday.

His bail has been set at $250,000, $300,000 insured bond, or $2 million partially secured surety bond, online records show.

Patch has reached out to Sheriff Errol Toulon's office.