Suffolk County Police officers arrested 59-year-old Armando Desa at a home on Cooke Avenue in Holtsville at around 6:25 p.m. Monday, charging him with second-degree menacing and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon after authorities said a knife was involved in the confrontation.
According to News 12 New York, Desa was taken into custody at the residence following the Monday night incident, though authorities released no additional details about what led up to the confrontation. Both charges he now faces are Class A misdemeanors under New York law; Sachem Patch reported the arrest time and overnight-hold information.
Held Overnight Ahead of Court Appearance
Police detained Desa overnight at the Suffolk County Police Department's 6th Precinct station in Selden, the same report notes, ahead of his scheduled arraignment Tuesday in Suffolk County First District Court in Central Islip. At arraignments, district judges can set bail or conditions of release and issue orders of protection. It remains unknown whether bail was set or an order of protection requested at Desa's appearance, and the exact type of knife recovered from the scene has not been disclosed.
The 6th Precinct is headquartered at 400 Middle Country Road in Selden. Holtsville, an unincorporated hamlet home to roughly 18,937 residents as of the 2020 U.S. Census according to Wikipedia, relies entirely on county police coverage rather than a local village force.
Second Weapon Incident in Holtsville Within 36 Hours
Desa's arrest marked the second weapon-involved menacing incident in Holtsville within a 36-hour span. Earlier Monday, a 49-year-old man was arrested on Campus Drive for allegedly waving a gun at someone, the same outlet reported, with that case also resulting in second-degree menacing and fourth-degree weapon possession charges.
Under New York Penal Law § 120.14, second-degree menacing applies when someone intentionally places another person in reasonable fear of physical injury or death by displaying a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument, a charge that carries up to a year in county jail, according to the Saland Law. The companion weapon charge, fourth-degree criminal possession under Penal Law § 265.01, is also a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail or probation, and covers cases where someone possesses a dangerous knife or instrument with intent to use it unlawfully against another, per the new-york-lawyers.org.
A Separate Knife Incident in East Hampton
Two Weapon Cases in Holtsville on Monday The Campus Drive case earlier Monday, along with Desa's arrest, underscores how concentrated this stretch of weapon-related menacing calls has been for the hamlet.
Key details about Desa's case remain unresolved, including his relationship, if any, to the people at the Cooke Avenue home and the precise nature of what sparked the confrontation. Hoodline has previously covered similar Suffolk County menacing cases involving knives, including a Bronx man caught weeks later after a knife-pulling incident on an LIRR train in East Hampton.
