4 Riverhead Drive-By Shooting Suspects Indicted

Four suspects arrested by Riverhead Town police Feb. 13 after allegedly shooting at a home on Third Street will be arraigned on a grand jury indictment Wednesday in the Suffolk County court in Riverside.

Jeffrey Despeines, 21, of Centereach, Jordan Harrell, 18, of Medford, Eric Baldwin Jr., 18, of Bellport, and Jasmine Parsons, 19, of Riverhead will face Judge William Condon; the court calendar will be called at 9:30 a.m. at the Arthur M. Cromarty Court Complex in Riverside.

According to Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota, town police charged all four with first-degree reckless endangerment. Despeines and Baldwin also face weapons charges.

At least two of the four suspects arrested after the shooting in Riverhead have been identified as having been involved as members of the Bloods gang, police said.

Riverhead Detective Sgt. Joseph Loggia said that of the three male suspects arrested and charged after the shooting, two had been identified as having ties to the Bloods as members; he declined to say which of the defendants had known gang affiliations.

A third male suspect, Loggia said, has not yet been identified as a gang member; that information has not yet been confirmed with law enforcement, he said. And a woman arrested with the three men is not believed to have gang ties, Loggia said.

Loggia said no immediate indication was yet clear on why the house had been chosen for the shooting. No one was injured in the shooting, he said.

The four suspects were arrested and charged with reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weaponafter police said they shot at a Riverhead home where children were inside.

According to Riverhead police, on Feb. 13 at 8:53 p.m., police units in the Roanoke Avenue area heard what sounded like "rapid gunfire" coming from the area of 3rd Street.

One of the units, police said, observed what appeared to be a tan Ford Taurus leaving the Third Street area; the officer followed the car.

A traffic stop was initiated on Peconic Avenue and police found four occupants in the vehicle.

Additional units, police said, responded to the Third Street area and were notified by an occupant of a home on the street that someone had just shot at their house. The house was occupied by several adults and young children at the time.

Empty shell casings were found in the roadway in front of the home, police said.

All four occupants of the vehicle were placed under arrest after officers said they observed similar shell casings on the floorboard of the vehicle. Police said while the suspects were being placed into custody, one of the individuals was found to be in possession of a loaded .380 caliber semi-automatic handgun.

A search of the vehicle revealed similar spent shell casings, police said.

Police arrested Despeines, 21, of Centereach, and charged him with reckless endangerment in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree and in the third degree, all felonies.

Also arrested was Baldwin, Jr., 18, of Bellport; he was charged with reckless endangerment in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, a misdemeanor. Harrell, 18, of Medford, was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment in the first degree; Parsons, 19, of Riverhead, was arrested and charged with reckless endangerment in the first degree

At the arraignment, Baldwin's bail was set at $100,000 cash or $500,000 bond. Despeines' bail was set at  $250,000 cash or $750,000 bond; Harrell's bail was set at $200,000 cash or $500,000 bond, and Parsons' bail was set at $200,000 cash or $500,000 bond, according to Riverhead Town justice court.

All four were remanded to the Suffolk County Correctional Facility in lieu of bail, according to justice court records.