NEWS | THE LONG-ISLANDER, FEBRUARY 17, 2005

A Bloodbath On Wall Street

Brawl after teen is stabbed in front of movie theater

By Michael R. Sisak / The Long-Islander

The stabbing of a 17-year-old from Huntington Station on the Wall Street sidewalk in front of the Loews Shore Cineplex movie theater, Friday night, instigated a brawl among dozens of teenagers and police officers. The incident has renewed discussions between town leaders, police and school officials about how to prevent violence from tainting the tranquility of Huntington village.

“It was a threatening situation,” Lt. Tom O’Heir of the Suffolk County Police said.

According to witnesses and police officers at the scene, the drama started inside the movie theater around 8:40 p.m., when two teenage girls engaged in an argument that stemmed from an altercation they had earlier that day.

The boyfriends of the young women, Alvaro Alfaro, 17, and Bryan Goodin, 17 both of Huntington Station, allegedly became involved in a lobby showdown of their own.

As patrons rushed in for the late showing of Million Dollar Baby, a movie theater employee told the quarreling parties to move their ring outside. Alfaro and Goodin complied. They fought on the sidewalk in front of the main entrance. A crowd of friends and acquaintances of both Alfaro and Goodin gathered to watch. Alfaro pulled what one witness described as a shank and allegedly stabbed Goodin twice in the torso and at least once in the left arm.

Goodin suffered a punctured left lung and a deep puncture wound to his left arm. He was taken to Huntington Hospital and was listed in serious condition after initially being admitted in a critical state.

Steve Rasmussen, the first police officer on scene, arrived shortly thereafter. Goodin, bleeding heavily as he lay in the theater’s external vestibule, recounted what had happened and indicated Alfaro as his assailant. Alfaro fled south on Wall Street. Rasmussen followed on foot and caught him near Gerard Street. Rasmussen attempted to place Alfaro under arrest, but the suspect resisted, allegedly bruising the officer’s neck, left arm and hand. Rasmussen also suffered a left arm sprain.

Keith Mangels, another police officer, arrived to assist Rasmussen. As they brought Alfaro under control, a friend of the suspect allegedly ambushed the officers. Adam Williams, a 16-year-old from Huntington Station, allegedly punched Mangels in the face several times, bruising the officer’s neck and “causing substantial pain to his head,” according to Det. Sgt. Richard Auspaker.

“When the police officer arrived, he attempted to arrest the stabber and apparently one of the stabber’s friends jumped on the police officer,” Lt. O’Heir said. “People usually have their friends with them too, so that can readily escalate.”

The drama escalated into a full-on brawl as more police officers arrived from across the town of Huntington. Between 40 and 50 people, mostly teenagers were involved and aftershocks of frustration were felt all along Wall Street, from the movie theater to Main Street. One boy, a supposed friend of the victim, cursed loudly after an officer said that he could not provide an update on the stabbing.

The boy, accompanied several friends, turned from the police line and angrily banged on the windows of a vacant store next to The Wharf, the arcade-style restaurant that had in celebration mode for its grand opening. None of the panes broke, but farther south on Wall Street, in another fit of rage, shattered glass was discovered in front of the Kangaroo Korner store, which had been closed at the time.

According to police, the brawl was so out of control, at one point, that every patrol car on duty in the second precinct — 25 officers and 3 supervisors — responded.

“This was unusual, quite unusual,” Lt. O’Heir said. “Huntington Village is a quiet, beautiful village.”

Alfaro was charged with first and second degree assault and resisting arrest. Williams was charged with second degree assault and resisting arrest.

Frank Petrone, the town supervisor, met yesterday with officials from the school districts in Huntington and South Huntington and from the Suffolk County Police to discuss measures that could be implemented to prevent future flashes of youth-perpetrated violence in Huntington village.

“Through working with the schools and with the schools working with the parents we can have a little bit more of a constructive involvement, where [the village] is not just a drop-off point [for youth] on Friday and Saturday night,” Petrone said. “Obviously we don’t keep people out of the downtown, but it behooves us to work together.”

Huntington village has long been a destination for teenagers. It is a confined grid of inexpensive eateries and entertainment that bustles with youth on weekends, in summer and whenever there is a day off during the school term. Sidewalks and alleyways that link the main thoroughfares in the village — Main Street, New York Avenue and Wall Street — serve as invitations to the youngest of the teenage demographic because there is no need for a car, or a driver’s license to move about. Once they arrive in Huntington village, teens are free to come and go as they please and there is no regulation that tells them where to go or when to leave.

“We have no laws that prohibit the high school kids from coming down to Huntington village. They’re allowed to be there,” McKay said. “There is no loitering law, there is no law against anyone gathering, for that matter.”