N. Massapequa man who fired rifle from basement, narrowly missing neighbor's boy, pleads guilty

A North Massapequa man accused of firing multiple rounds from a semiautomatic rifle out of his basement apartment last year — nearly striking a sleeping child in a neighboring home — pleaded guilty on Monday to drug and weapons charges.

Authorities seized a pound of cocaine, six assault rifles and a dozen more firearms at the residence of Steven Frigand after he opened fire and struck neighboring homes, Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said.

Frigand, 58, pleaded guilty on Monday to first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and first-degree reckless endangerment before Nassau Judge Robert Bogle.

Frigand is expected to be sentenced to 10 years in prison when he returns to court on Sept. 25, Donnelly said.

"In a quiet residential neighborhood, without a thought to the terror and danger his actions would create, Steven Frigand unleashed a hail of gunfire from his basement apartment striking several homes," Donnelly said in a statement. "The defendant’s thoughtless and cavalier behavior put a child in harm’s way, when a bullet tore through the young boy’s bedroom as he slept."

Frigand’s attorney, Nicholas Ramcharitar, said the defendant was struggling with mental health issues and substance abuse at the time of the shooting. "He thought at that moment that someone was kidnapping his daughter," the lawyer said.

Ramcharitar said Frigand has accepted responsibility for his actions.

"This is not the type of person he is," Ramcharitar said. "He has a wonderful family, a wonderful daughter, a wonderful wife. We are happy that he will be able to get the help that he needs."

Donnelly said Frigand fired dozens of shots from his basement apartment on Sussex Avenue at about 12:45 a.m. on Aug. 20. Several shots hit a house behind the apartment building, while others tore through a fence and hit a neighboring home. Two of those shots narrowly missed a boy asleep in his bed, as well as the homeowner who was checking on the child.

Frigand refused to leave the basement for more than one hour after police arrived at the scene.

In addition to the 18 guns, which included four shotguns, Nassau police also recovered hundreds of rounds of ammunition and 40 high-capacity magazines.