Nassau Man Indicted For Shooting At Officers

A Uniondale man was indicted on attempted murder charges on Friday for allegedly shooting at Nassau County police officers after a traffic stop in October.

Duane Costa, 37, was arraigned today and charged with four counts of first-degree attempted murder, four counts of second-degree attempted murder, two counts of first-degree criminal use of a firearm and four counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He is due back in court on Jan. 24, and could face life in prison.

“According to the indictment, the defendant was armed with two handguns and fired multiple rounds at four police officers after a traffic stop,” said Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas. “It is truly a miracle that no police officers were injured in this shooting. There are serious consequences for the attempted murder of a police officer and these charges carry a potential maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.”

At about 1 a.m. on Oct. 28, Singas said that Nassau County police officers pulled over a car on Midwood Street in Hempstead in which Costa was a passenger. Police asked Costa and the driver to step out of the car after they allegedly saw him not wearing a seatbelt and adjusting an object in his waistband.

Singas said that Costa then pushed past the officer and ran. As he reached to his waist, Singas said a .40 pistol fell to the ground. Then Costa pulled out another gun, a CZ 52 pistol, and fired multiple rounds at officers as he ran off, according to Singas. As he rounded a corner, Costa encountered two more officers, Singas said, and then fired more shots at them and ran.

Nassau County and Hempstead police officers set up a perimeter and located Costa a short time later in the yard of a home on Costa street, where he was arrested. Singas said that both handguns were recovered, and none of the officers were injured or fired their weapons.

Photo courtesy Nassau County Police Department