A Coram man was indicted for allegedly chasing a homeless man through a busy intersection and fatally stabbing him in the back.
On July 20 at approximately 3:35 p.m., Joseph Norton was allegedly driving his 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche on Route 112 in Medford when he came to a stop at a traffic light in close proximity to Timothy Stark, 32. Norton allegedly made a U-turn, parked his vehicle under an overpass, and then chased the victim across the intersection and through heavy traffic, while repeatedly attempting to stab him. Norton then allegedly pushed the victim’s head toward the ground and stabbed him in the back once before the victim collapsed in the roadway. The victim was later pronounced dead at NYU Langone – Suffolk Hospital.
Stark, who was homeless, was well-known in the community.
Norton allegedly ran back to his vehicle and fled the scene. He was arrested shortly after in Yaphank by members of the Suffolk County Police Department. Law enforcement allegedly recovered a knife from underneath the driver’s seat, with what appeared to be blood on it.
The alleged chase and stabbing were captured on surveillance video, dash cameras and cell phone video.
On July 30, Norton, 20, was arraigned on the indictment before Supreme Court Justice Steven A. Pilewski for Murder in the Second Degree, a Class A-I felony.
“I thank the Suffolk County Police Department for their swift apprehension of this defendant, who is alleged to have targeted this victim with zero regard that he was surrounded by witnesses,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “Brutal violence as is alleged here has no place in Suffolk County.”
Pilewski ordered that Norton be remanded during the pendency of the case. Norton is due back in court on September 3 and faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the top count.