By Jonann Brady
Alex Pichardo, of 2923 Bayview Ave., was arrested on Thursday, Nov. 21, at 8:40 p.m. and charged with first-degree gang assault. As of Monday, Pichardo was being held in Nassau County jail on $250,000 bond or $150,000 cash bail.
Det. Lt. Andrew Fal of the First Precinct said that the police are tracking other suspects and more arrests are pending.
Two other suspects, Juan Infante, 19, of South Floral Park, Queens, and Ariel Moronta, 20, of Hempstead, were arrested on Wednesday, Nov. 20 and charged with first-degree gang assault.
According to Fal, Pichardo, Infante's cousin, enlisted Infante's help in confronting a group of students he had problems with. Infante and Moronta are believed to be affiliated with the Latin Kings gang, according to police.
Three people were injured in the stabbing, two Baldwin high school students, ages 16 and 17, and a 24-year-old Freeport man. Police are not releasing the victims' names because of safety concerns, said Fal.
The students who were stabbed were apparently friends with a student Picharo wanted to confront. Fal said there is no firm indication that the three victims have any gang affiliation.
"[Pichardo] had trouble with another student the week before and he enlisted the aid of his cousin and other people with Latin King affiliation...to bully and intimidate people," said Fal. "Words escalated to physical violence, which escalated to weapons.
"It starts out with a pretty ridiculous premise...[about] respect and nonsense," Fal explained.
The men arrested were part of a larger group of eight to 10 young men who confronted a group of four to six young men on Nov. 20 at 2:50 p.m. at the Baldwin Shopping Center, in front of the new Global Furniture store.
Several weapons were involved in the fight, said Fal, and two knives and a straight razor were recovered. Based on the extent of the injuries the 17-year-old victim sustained, police believe that a very large knife was used, perhaps a machete.
The 17-year-old suffered multiple lacerations in his chest, arms and back as well as a broken left wrist and elbow. He was released from Mercy Medical Center on Friday.
Baldwin Fire Department medics arrived on the scene minutes after they received a call at 2:58 p.m., said the director of operations, Jerry Brown. Brown, who treated the 17-year-old, said he was bleeding profusely but was alert and conscious. About 50 students and onlookers had already gathered on the scene when the fire department arrived, Brown said.
The 24-year-old sustained a gash from his forehead to the back of his skull and was treated and released from South Nassau Communities Hospital last week. The 16-year-old was cut on the face and had some bruises from being punched and kicked, Fal said. He was treated and released from Mercy Medical Center last week and returned to school by Friday.
Police are interviewing other students who may have been involved in the fight. No one else reported any injuries, said Fal.
Baldwin school officials referred calls to their public relations firm, Syntax Communications. Though the fight did not occur on school grounds, First Precinct police and high school security patrolled the shopping center during school hours the day after the incident, said Kathy Beatty, a spokesperson for Syntax.
The school has also sent a letter to all parents in the district (see sidebar). Beatty said she was not aware what further steps would be taken by the school.
She added that gang violence is a concern for every district on Long Island. Baldwin school officials are "just as concerned as any other school district to provide the safest environment for students and staff," she said.
Even before the incident, the First Precinct had stepped up patrols around the high school to combat gang-related activity and crime in general. Gang-related violence has been growing in nearby Roosevelt -- a Roosevelt High School student was fatally shot in a gang-related drive-by shooting in October -- and it is "creeping into Baldwin," said Fal.
Gang life is "not what it's portrayed to be," he said. Kids looking for camaraderie in gangs can be in for rude awakenings when they become victims of violence or get caught up in criminal activity, he explained.
First Precinct officials have said that stopping gang activity is a community effort. "You need the presence there, out in the street, to stop situations and observe things," Fal said, adding that the police rely on the public to make them aware of what's going on in the community. "We need eyes and ears out there."
Parents, too, need to be "cognizant of what their kids are doing," said Fal. "It starts at home." He estimated that gang activity is at the "ground level" in the community but needs to be watched. "If it's not managed, it's going to grow," he said.
