By Hank Russell
Suffolk County police arrested a Bay Shore man for killing another man and shooting a police officer.
Third Precinct police officers responded to a 911 call regarding a man found dead in a wooded lot across from 19 New York Avenue in Bay Shore on July 23 at 4:35 p.m. It was determined that the man, Eugene Allen, 66, of Brentwood, was the victim of a homicide.
Following an investigation, Homicide Squad detectives determined the suspect was Nieves F. Reyes. Police attempted to execute a search warrant at his residence at 25 New York Avenue in Bay Shore on July 24 at 2:25 a.m. Reyes fired shots, striking one of the officers in the face.
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina held a press confererence on July 24 in front of Stony Brook University Hospital to provide details of what happened leading up to the arrest and give an update on the officer’s condition.
“Detectives obtained a search warrant for the suspect’s house and officers began to set up a perimeter,” Catalina said. “While the officers were attempting to execute the search warrant, the suspect began to fire several shots from inside the home. One of those bullets struck [the] officer in the face. The officer … never lost consciousness.”
The officer, 33, was transported to South Shore University Hospital and later transferred to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he is in stable condition. Catalina said the officer was on the force for two years; prior to that, he was a U.S. Navy medic for four years. He is married with three children.
Dr. James Vosswinkel, chief of the hospital’s Trauma, Emergency Surgery and Surgical Critical Care Center, said the bullet struck the officer in the face. “Getting shot in the face is a very lethal area to be shot,” he said. “It fractured his cheeckbone, and it was lodged beneath his ear. … He has no nerve damage … and he should make a complete and full recovery.”
Vosswinkel said the officer was “fortunate” that he survived. “A half an inch more at a different angle and he would either be blind or, worse, would not be with us anymore.”
The Hostage Negotiation Team responded and Reyes, 48, surrendered later that day at approximately 6:10 a.m. “Prior to surrendering, when our ESU team deployed the tactical drone, [Reyes] fired seven shots at our officers, striking one of our vehicles seven times.”
As for the victim, Catalina said he and Reyes knew each other. They used to work together as mechanics. He added that Reyes has a criminal record.
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said he received a call about the officer about 3 a.m. that morning. “It’s one of those calls that you don’t want to get,” he said. “It’s one of those calls that you dread getting that one of your police force has been injured in the course of duty. Our thoughts and our prayers are with him, his wife and children. We are all behind him. We’re all rallying behind him and hoping for the best.”
John Natt, the first vice president of the Suffolk County Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, railed against the elected officials who claim that there has been a reduction in violent crime on Long Island and in New York.
“This is clear evidence that crime in New York is not down,” he said. “Attacks on our police officers are not down. I find it ironic that I was attending a press conference [on July 23] where the governor [Kathy Hochul] was touting a reduction in crime on Long Island. Yet, here we stand.
“Police officers make the sacrifices every day that the public doesn’t know about,” Natt continued. “Today, you saw that firsthand.”
Detectives charged Reyes with second-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder on a police officer. He was held overnight at the Sixth Precinct in Selden and is scheduled for arraignment at First District Court in Central Islip on July 25.
Catalina said he visited the officer. Although he is “in a lot of pain,” the officer “is happy to be alive and we’re happy that he’s alive.”