LI Man Accused Of Stabbing Victim In Neck At Church Indicted: DA

AMITYVILLE, NY — A Bay Shore man accused of stabbing a 65-year-old man in the neck during a meeting at an Amityville church has been indicted on an attempted murder charge, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said Wednesday.

Daniel Escobar, 33, was indicted on second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault and two counts of second-degree assault in connection with the Sept. 11 stabbing at First United Methodist Church in Amityville, prosecutors said.

According to prosecutors, Escobar and the victim were attending a meeting inside the church when Escobar stabbed the man in the neck without provocation.

The wounded man fled the church and staggered to a nearby building while bleeding heavily, prosecutors said. Another person who had attended the meeting applied pressure to the wound until police and emergency medical personnel arrived.

The victim was taken to Good Samaritan University Hospital, where he was intubated, sedated and placed on a ventilator before undergoing emergency surgery to control the bleeding, according to the district attorney's office.

He remained hospitalized as of Wednesday, prosecutors said.

About two hours after the stabbing, Escobar was arrested near his Bay Shore home, prosecutors said. Authorities say he had the knife used in the stabbing tucked into his waistband when he was arrested.

Escobar was arraigned Wednesday before Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins, who ordered him held on $150,000 cash bail, $1.5 million bond or $1.5 million partially secured bond. An order of protection was issued for the victim.

Escobar pleaded not guilty to the charges, his attorney, Danielle Papa, told Patch.

Papa said the addition of the attempted murder charge in the indictment “came as no surprise” because it carries the same felony classification as first-degree assault, though it represents a different theory under which prosecutors are pursuing the case.

“It’s the early stages of the case,” Papa said. “There’s still a significant amount of discovery for me to go through. I’ve only received a fraction of it.”

Papa said Escobar’s family attended Wednesday’s arraignment and remains supportive of him.

“The family is distraught and upset over the charges that Daniel is facing, and they’re concerned for the well-being of the complainant,” Papa said, adding that the family wishes the victim a speedy recovery.

Escobar is due back in court Oct. 26. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of the top charge, prosecutors said.

“This defendant is alleged to have brutally attacked the victim who, as a result of his injuries, remains in the hospital battling to recuperate,” said District Attorney Tierney. “There is no
excuse for such violence in Suffolk County. If you violently endanger the lives of others, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”