By: JOSEPH KELLARD and Chris Munzing
Antwan J. Brown, 18, of East Market Street, surrendered to Nassau County police after allegedly shooting a man and a woman in Island Park on Sunday morning.
Brown fired shots from a .357 Magnum at a 19-year-old man and a 25-year-old woman as they walked out of Club Heat, at 3942 Long Beach Road in Island Park, at about 3:55 a.m. on Oct. 24, according to Lt. Detective Gregory Detwiller of the Fourth Precinct.
In addition, Brown-s mother, Diana Little, 39, was charged with hindering prosecution in connection with the case.
Prior to the shooting, according to police, Brown and the male victim had exchanged heated words. As the man and woman left the club, Brown produced a gun and fired a round that struck the female victim in her left thigh, shattering her femur. Brown then shot the male victim, hitting him in the left chest area.
The male victim ran from the scene toward Long Beach Motor Inn on Austin Boulevard, where he requested help from the clerk at the desk, who phoned police. As the victim ran to the motel, Brown allegedly chased him and fired at him again. Police said that acquaintances of the male victim chased and tackled Brown to the ground in the parking lot near the Outback restaurant and took his gun away from him.
At this point, police said, Little pulled up in her car and helped her son escape the scene. Wherever she took him, we-re not sure, Detwiller told the Herald. But she was identified at the scene, and when we brought her in for questioning she was very uncooperative. She wouldn-t tell us where she took him. She wouldn-t tell us really anything.
Police charged Little with second-degree hindering prosecution.
Detectives said they spoke with two other relatives of Brown-s, stressing to them that it was in his best interest to voluntarily surrender. Brown did so at the Fourth Precinct headquarters in Hewlett at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, and was charged with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, first-degree criminal use of a firearm and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
According to Detwiller, Brown had been arrested previously for criminal mischief and assault in Long Beach.
Both the male victim, who is from Long Beach, and the female victim, who is from Hempstead, were admitted to South Nassau Hospital, where they were listed in stable condition and held overnight.
Detectives are investigating the motive for the shooting, which they suspect is related to a previous altercation between Brown and the male victim. We believe two to three weeks ago, something happened between the defendant-s group of friends and the victim-s group of friends in the Long Beach area, Detwiller said. And we believe this latest incident is an outgrowth from this initial altercation. It was a case of bad blood between the shooter and the victim.
Charges filed in East Penn shooting
Lachance Bryant, 19, of Long Beach, was arrested and charged with second-degree attempted murder and other offenses after allegedly shooting a man in the upper back and buttocks on East Penn Street early Saturday morning, according to Long Beach Police Sgt. Bruce Meyer.
Bryant, who was also charged with second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and first-degree criminal use of a firearm, was believed to have been involved in an argument with the 33-year old victim earlier that day on East Fulton Street, Meyer said.
The victim, whose name has been withheld by police, was admitted to South Nassau Communities Hospital. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. Meyer said the weapon used was a small-caliber semi-automatic handgun.
The second-degree attempted murder and first-degree criminal use of a firearm charges are both class B felonies, which carry a maximum prison sentence of 25 years. The first-degree criminal use of a firearm charge carries a maximum sentence of 15 years.
Comments about this story? CMunzing@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 205.
