Cops: Assault charge for Massapequa man after dispute with teen over ball
Suffolk County police said they have charged a Massapequa man with misdemeanor assault after he allegedly attacked a 15-year-old boy at a Greenlawn skate park in a dispute over an errant baseball.
Just after 7 p.m. on May 21, Andrew Chiaro, 36, allegedly tried to retrieve the ball from the teen after it ended up at the skate park, which is next to the baseball diamonds on Cuba Hill Road.
In the process, police said, he assaulted the boy, who was taken to a hospital for treatment of nonlife threatening injuries. Police arrested Chiaro last Thursday and charged him with third-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a child, both listed as misdemeanors.
He was issued an appearance ticket and will be arraigned at a later date.
Chiaro could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Terry Lipton of Centerport, the teen’s mother, said her son suffered muscular injuries in his back and she took him to the emergency room after he complained of pain.
In a statement, Chiaro's Garden City attorney, Warren W. Quaid, called the charges against his client "unjustified and cynical."
"The accuser stole my client's baseball, was asked politely by the father of one of the players to return it, refused to do so, and repeatedly and arrogantly refused my client's request that he do so and instead kept it in his pocket."
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
