Suffolk Bar Bouncer Gets 24 Years In Prison After Killing Patron: DA

HOLBROOK, NY — The former bouncer of a Holbrook bar was sentenced to 24 years in prison after he was found guilty of killing a patron in 2022, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney announced Friday.

David Cruz, 32, of Medford, was also sentenced to five years of post-release supervision after a jury convicted him of first-degree manslaughter in the fatal beating of Jake Scott, 32, of Centereach, Tierney said.

"We are satisfied that justice was served, and that this defendant was held accountable for his actions by the trial jury and now the court," Tierney said in a news release. "This lengthy prison sentence will allow the defendant to reflect on the fact that because he chose to violently rob Jake Scott of his life, he will now spend significant time behind bars. While no sentence can bring Mr. Scott back to his friends and family, we hope that this sentence brings some measure of closure."

See also: Accused Bouncer Boasted After Holbrook Bar Beating: Report

Cruz was working as a bouncer at Tailgaters Bar in Holbrook on Aug. 21, 2022, when he got into an argument with Scott, prosecutors said. According to witness testimony, Scott called Cruz a "weirdo" earlier in the evening, which investigators said "may have been the catalyst for the argument."

Cruz went outside the bar at 2:45 a.m. and continued arguing with Scott, officials said. He tried to repeatedly draw Scott out of view of the bar's surveillance camera, authorities said. Cruz could not lure Scott away from the camera, so he walked to his vehicle and returned to the bar's front area shortly after, the DA said.

He dragged a chair over to the bar's camera, stood in it, took off his shirt and covered the security camera, prosecutors said.

A nearby business's security camera was filming Cruz, who is 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 270 pounds, as he approached Scott, officials said.

Video shows Cruz delivering his first punch while Scott was starting to get up from his seat as Cruz came towards him, the DA said. The punch caused Scott to fall onto the cement sidewalk, Tierney said. Cruz then grabbed a motionless Scott by his shirt, pulled him up and yelled at him to get up, investigators said. When Scott did not respond, Cruz dropped him back to the ground and delivered a final blow to Scott’s head before fleeing, prosecutors said.

Cruz surrendered to police three days later on Aug. 24, 2022, officials said.

Scott was placed into a medically induced coma at Stony Brook University Hospital. Doctors determined he suffered a brain bleed, a complete skull fracture, and a traumatic brain injury. Scott died in the hospital 11 days later.

Cruz was found guilty on April 24. He was represented by Javier Solano.