Steven Frigand, of North Massapequa, gets 10 years after allegedly firing into home

A North Massapequa man was sentenced to 10 years in prison on weapons and drug charges Friday after prosecutors said he fired multiple shots from his basement apartment into a neighbor's home, nearly striking a sleeping child.

Steven Frigand, 58, pleaded guilty in July to felony charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance, two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment.

Prosecutors said he opened fire just before 1 a.m. on Aug. 20, 2023, firing dozens of rounds at neighboring homes from his apartment on Sussex Avenue in North Massapequa.

The gunfire included two bullets fired into a home next door where a homeowner had gone to check on a child sleeping in his bed. Other bullets went through a fence and hit a neighboring house, as well as a home behind the apartment, prosecutors said.

The shootings prompted an hourlong standoff with police before Frigand was taken to Nassau University Medical Center. His attorney previously said he was experiencing a mental health crisis.

Police searched his apartment where they seized one pound of cocaine, 18 firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

"Steven Frigand willfully ignored the safety of his neighbors when he fired a gun from his basement dozens of times in the middle of the night — with one of those shots buzzing just over a child asleep in his bedroom in the home next door," Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement. "This defendant’s actions were extremely reckless, and fortunately did not result in any injuries. The shots led investigators to an alarming trove of illegal weapons and a pound of cocaine. We continue to fight to take illegal guns off our streets so that Nassau County residents can always feel safe in their communities and their homes."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

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.