Man Indicted After Firing Shots Into A Hampton Bays Home: DA

RIVERHEAD, NY — A Riverhead man was indicted Monday on charges related to firing several shots into a Hampton Bays home in July, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Lawrence Brown Jr., 26, was indicted on charges including second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, Tierney said.

According to the investigation, on July 7, at about 11:40 p.m., Brown reportedly drove from

his residence in Riverhead to Hampton Bays and fired five shots into the home of an individual he
had been disputing with days leading up to the shooting, the DA said.

Nobody was injured during the incident, Tierney said.

The residents inside the Hampton Bays home were asleep when the shots were fired and they reported that they originally attributed the sounds of those shots to fireworks, the DA said.

The following day, they discovered the bullet holes in their home and immediately reported them to Southampton Town police; police responded to the home and recovered multiple expended 9mm caliber shell casings from the street in front of the home, the DA said.

On August 22, the Southampton Town police detective’s division, with the assistance of
the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office Gang Task Force, East End Drug Task Force, the
Southampton Town emergency services unit, Southampton Village K-9 unit and the Riverhead
Town police department executed a search warrant at Brown’s home in Riverhead, the DA said.

During the search, a 9mm caliber handgun was reportedly recovered from Brown’s bedroom, Tierney said.

On September 9, Brown was arraigned before Acting Supreme Court Justice Anthony S.
Senft, Jr. on charges contained in the indictment, including two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, Class C violent felonies; one count of first-degree reckless endangerment, a Class D felony; and one count of criminal possession of a firearm, a Class E felony, Tierney said.

Justice Senft ordered Brown held on $250,000 cash, $500,000 bond, or $2.5 million partially secured bond during the pendency of the case, the DA said.

Brown is due back in court on September 24,and faces 15 years in prison if convicted on the top count; he is being represented by the Legal Aid Society.

"This arrest is an excellent example of the work that can be achieved when law enforcement agencies work together," said Tierney. "I commend the joint investigation conducted by the Town of Southampton Police Department, Riverhead Police Department, with our East End Drug Task Force along with our Gang Task Force. We look forward to holding this defendant accountable in court."

"The extensive investigation conducted by the Southampton Town Police detective division in partnership with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Gang Task Force resulted in the successful arrest of Lawrence Brown Jr. and the recovery of a 9mm handgun that was allegedly used in a shooting into an occupied residence located in Hampton Bays. The collaborative effort resulted in an illegal handgun being removed from the streets before an innocent person could be injured or killed. Gun violence has no place in Southampton Town and will not be tolerated,” said Southampton Town Police Chief James Kiernan.