2 still jailed in LI boxer's 2010 attack

Two men charged in the attack on boxer Adam Willett in North Bellport last year remain behind bars.

Darryl Austin, now 19, of East Patchogue, is at a Nassau County jail, said his attorney, Christopher Brocato of Central Islip.

Austin and a second man, Rasalaam Jackson, now 21, of Bay Shore, are accused in the case. Jackson, a suspected Crips gang member, is accused of pulling the trigger on Willett outside a North Bellport deli last April.

Authorities allege that Jackson had argued with a small group of high school girls Willett knew from his school security job. After Willett intervened, Jackson, with Austin as his passenger, sped away in a car before returning moments later and shooting Willett once in the torso, Suffolk police said.

"After Jackson shoots Adam, he yells to my client to get in the driver's seat, and he does and he drives away," Brocato said last week. Austin pleaded guilty in June to one count of attempted assault and is awaiting sentencing.

Jackson's attorney, Edward Hennessey of Shirley, said his client maintains his innocence and said he expects to take the case to trial. Jackson is charged with one count of first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault, and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

"There was no evidence presented [at a March 3 hearing] of any gang activity or involvement," Hennessey said. "There was no weapon recovered related to the shooting or any bullet."

With Robert Cassidy