Trial to Begin For Man Accused of Murders in Holbrook, Ronkonkoma

The trial of Reginald Ross, a Yaphank man accused in the 2010 ”cold-blooded, execution-style murders” of two men in Ronkonkoma and Holbrook begins on Wednesday, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said.

Ross, 37, is charged with two counts of second degree murder in the deaths of 51-year-old Raymond Hirt and 39-year-old John Williams.

Prosecutors say Ross shot construction crew flagman Hirt to death on May 24, 2010 because Ross felt that Hirt had “disrespected” him by making him wait at a construction site on Portion Road in Ronkonkoma.

Five months later, prosecutors say Ross fatally shot Williams in front of Williams’s Holbrook home on Geery Avenue.

“Mr. Williams was killed because Ross had a plan to lure a friend of Williams’ to his funeral, where he intended to take the life of that man too because of a disputed drug deal,” Spota said.

Spota said Ross, an alleged member of the Crips street gang, killed Hirt, of Mastic Beach, because when Ross complained of being held up in traffic at the construction site, Hirt told him there was nothing he could do.

“The defendant then stalked Hirt for more than a week before shooting him in the neck as the victim ate breakfast in his car on Beech Street near the construction site,” Spota said.

A Holbrook man, Luis Cherry, was sentenced to 63 years to life in prison earlier this month for his role in the murder of Williams.

SCPD Photo: Reginald Ross

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