Alleged Downtown, Polish Town Shooter Indicted by Suffolk County Grand Jury

An 18-year-old Riverhead man was indicted on assault and weapons charges by a Suffolk County grand jury on Nov. 22, according to court reports.

Juan Soyos-Pixtun was charged with two counts of second-degree assault, two counts of attempted assault in the first degree and four counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, said Robert Clifford, a spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Tom Spota.

The indictment dropped an attempted murder charge made against the suspect in relation to the shooting in Polish Town, downgrading it to an second-degree assault charge. Riverhead police had said Soyos-Pixtun threatened to kill the victim in that shooting before firing.

Soyos-Pixtun allegedly shot a 20-year-old Riverhead man with a 9mm semiautomatic handgun on Nov. 10 around 10:21 p.m. near Marcy Avenue and Pulaski Street. Police arrived to find the victim on the ground suffering from a gunshot wound to his upper leg, according to Lt. Robert Peeker. Witnesses at the scene told police that Soyos-Pixtun was the shooter, according to a police statement. The man's wounds were described as "non-life-threatening," police said.

Peeker added that an investigation revealed Soyos-Pixtun as the shooter in what they said was an unrelated incident on Nov. 4, when police said  downtown outside the  on West Main Street at about 10 p.m.

Surveillance footage from the night of the first shooting allegedly shows Soyos-Pixtun in an altercation with the victim inside the  moments before the shooting, though no audio exists on the tape, said Riverhead Police Detective Robert Boden.

"The grand jury carefully reviewed the evidence and elected to charge the defendant with assault and weapons possession charges," Clifford said.  

He added that the top count in the indictment of second-degree criminal weapons possession is punishable by up to 15 years in prison; a second-degree assault charge is punishable by up to 7 years in prison, he said.

Soyos-Pixtun is being held in the Suffolk County Correctional Facility after being unable to post $500,000 bail.