Calverton man pleads guilty in 2023 shooting during candlelight vigil
A Calverton man pleaded guilty Friday to opening fire at a Bellport candlelight vigil and attacking a correction officer in Riverhead.
Steven Reid, 27, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and other charges related to the July shooting.
He also pleaded guilty to assault for what sheriff's officials described as an unprovoked attack at the Suffolk County Correctional Center in Riverhead, when an officer was punched three times in the face.
Reid, who was identified as a Bloods gang member, was being held for firing at the candlelight vigil for a victim of a fatal motorcycle crash. Police said Reid opened fire after he began to fight another man at the vigil.
“This defendant viciously opened fire on an unsuspecting community gathered to mourn the loss of a loved one,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a statement. “The defendant then continued his violent behavior while in custody, assaulting an unsuspecting Corrections Officer just trying to do his job."
Prosecutors said there were more than 100 people at the vigil when Reid got into a fight with a man and pulled out a gun, shooting him "at point-blank range" in the upper right thigh. The bullet shattered the man’s femur, passed through his leg and lodged into his right shin, prosecutors said.
Others at the vigil placed a tourniquet on the man’s leg and rushed him to the hospital where he underwent emergency orthopedic surgery to replace his shattered femur with metal rods and pins, district attorney officials said.
Prosecutors said Reid also fired at a woman and a 9-year-old boy who were running to a home nearby.
Authorities arrested Reid in September after he fled to North Carolina. He was extradited back to Suffolk County by U.S. Marshals to face charges.
Sheriff's officials said he attacked the correction officer in December after leaving his cell. He was pepper sprayed and shocked with a stun gun to return him to his cell.
Reid pleaded guilty Friday to attempted murder, two counts of assault and criminal possession of a weapon.
As part of the plea agreement, Reid is expected to face 14 years in prison. He could have faced up to 25 years to life.
Reid is scheduled to be sentenced May 22 and he will also be subject to five years of supervision after he is released from prison.
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
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