Sini: Mastic Beach man sentenced to 24 years in prison for home invasion 

A Mastic Beach man convicted last month of participating in an East Patchogue home invasion where a loaded AR-15 rifle went off during a struggle with victims was sentenced Tuesday to 24 years in prison, Suffolk’s top prosecutor said.

Steven Smith, 56, was sentenced by Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro more than one month after his Feb. 5 conviction on 10 felony counts including first- and second-degree burglary and fourth-degree conspiracy, said Suffolk District Attorney Timothy Sini, in a news release.

“Justice was finally served for the victims almost two years to the day after this defendant and his accomplices broke into their home,” Sini said. “This is a significant sentence that was secured due to the exhaustive investigation by our detectives to identify the perpetrators and a hard-won trial conviction.”

Smith’s attorney could not be reached for comment.

The sentence comes just over two years after the March 22, 2017, home invasion where prosecutors and police said Smith and three accomplices donned masks and burst their way into a Falcon Avenue residence with the rifle, a shotgun,  zip ties and a crowbar.

During a struggle, authorities said, one of the suspects fired a shot and one of the suspects' mask was removed.

Suffolk police crime scene investigators matched the shell casing from the discharged bullet to an AR-15 rifle owned by Donald McDonnell, 43, of Manorville. McDonnell pleaded guilty on Dec. 14, 2018, to 10 counts of first- and second-degree burglary and fourth-degree conspiracy, prosecutors said. He was sentenced last month to eight years in prison with five years of post-release supervision, authorities said.

The two other suspects pleaded guilty to felonies in connection with the case and will be sentenced at a later date.