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Partly Cloudy L.B. police arrest suspect in West End Dunkin’ Donuts attack
Derrick Patten was ‘laying low’ after he allegedly slashed employee
Following a nearly two month-long search and a $5,000 Crime Stoppers reward, Long Beach police arrested the man suspected of attacking an employee at a local Dunkin’ Donuts last November.
Police arrested 24-year-old Long Beach resident Derrick Patten in Freeport on Dec. 28 after he allegedly slashed a male employee in the face at the Dunkin’ Donuts at 1070 W. Beech St. on Nov. 8.
According to Police Commissioner Mike Tangney, Patten approached the counter and after a brief confrontation cut the man's face, a violent attack that was captured on the store’s security camera.
The victim was taken to a local hospital and required 80 stitches. Tangney said the incident is believed to have started over a girl, though police said that the victim did not provoke the attack. Tangney said Patten cut the man under the left eye to the edge of his nose.
Police said Patten, whose last known address was at 57 B E. Pine St., fled the store in an unknown direction and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
“We’ve actively been hunting this guy,” Tangney said. “We had gotten word that he was coming to Long Beach, and we were waiting for him.”
A few days before his arrest, Patten — who Tangney said had been “laying low” with relatives in Elmont and other areas in Nassau County — was spotted by police at the intersection of Park Avenue and Long Beach Boulevard, but he managed to flee the scene.
“We had information that he was coming in and then [officers] saw the car,” he said. “They did a car stop and he jumped out of the car and got away, but we knew he was still in the area.”
Police soon learned that Patten was hiding at a home in Freeport, Tangney said, where he was apprehended with assistance from Nassau County and Freeport police after they surrounded the home.
“After a short while he surrendered without incident,” Tangney said. “He realized we weren’t going away and he surrendered. It was great work by the Long Beach detectives who developed leads and located the individual, and carefully executed an arrest plan with a successful resolution and the peaceful apprehension of Mr. Patten.”
