Melville teen out on bail after stabbing arrest following Half Hollow Hills East football game, police say

A Melville teen charged with stabbing a man in a parking lot after a football game in Dix Hills was released from jail Saturday on $11,000 cash bail, officials said.

Kamal Williams, 17, of 4 Naomi Ct., was arrested late Friday on charges of assault and second-degree menacing in the stabbing of a 19-year-old Dix Hills man after a football game at Half Hollow Hills High School East.

Suffolk police said the fight was sparked by a prior dispute but declined to elaborate. Police said they received a call about 7:18 p.m. that involved a dispute between two men who had just left the game between the school and Smithtown High School West. The suspect stabbed the victim twice in the back, the criminal complaint stated.

The victim, whose identity was not released, was taken to Huntington Hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries, police said. His condition was not available late Saturday.

Williams was arrested shortly after 10:30 p.m. Friday and arraigned Saturday at First District Court in Central Islip, records show. Bail was posted shortly after his court appearance.

His attorney, John Scarpa, of Hauppauge, said in a phone interview that Williams was defending himself after being assaulted by four people. "My client is actually the victim here," Scarpa said. "The police department arrested the wrong individual."

Suffolk police had no immediate comment on Scarpa's claim.

Several students at Half Hollow Hills said the crowd at the game was among the biggest of the season, and that several disturbances broke out among attendees throughout the evening.

At Williams' home Saturday, a man who identified himself as his brother said: "He's a good his kid. He's in college. We're just trying to figure out what happened." With Nicole Fuller

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com,kevin.deutsch@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert,

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.