Man, woman accused of trying to rob, murder Huntington Station man
A Huntington man and a Northport woman were indicted this week for their roles in a failed plot to rob and murder a Huntington Station man last month, Suffolk County prosecutors said.
Jordan Dekie, 21, and Emily Tague, 19, are each charged with second-degree attempted murder, second-degree conspiracy and first-degree attempted robbery.
“These two individuals not only allegedly tried to steal the victim’s belongings, but they also tried to rob him of his life,” said Suffolk District Attorney Raymond Tierney. “This cowardly and heinous act of violence will not be tolerated in Suffolk County.”
Dekie was arraigned Wednesday and held on $150,000 cash or $300,000 bond. Tague was arraigned Thursday and held on identical bail.
John LoTurco, Dekie's Huntington-based defense attorney, said his client has no criminal history and comes from a supportive family.
"It's our hope to have meaningful discussions with the district attorney's office whereby we are going to provide mitigating evidence that Jordan did not intend to murder the victim," he said. "And if we cannot convince the district attorney's office, we look forward to vigorously defending him at trial."
Eric Besso, Tague's Sayville-based defense attorney, declined to comment.
On the evening of Dec. 12, the victim picked up Dekie and Tague in his Dodge Charger, and headed to Dekie's home in Huntington where he planned to drop them off, prosecutors said.
After arriving at the home, the three sat idly in the victim’s car. Dekie then signaled to Tague, who then stabbed the victim in the chest with a knife, authorities said.
Dekie, who also had a knife, attempted to remove the victim’s lanyard which contained his car keys from his neck, and then stabbed him multiple times, prosecutors said.
The victim, who was not identified, was able to wrestle the knife out of Dekie’s hand and escape, officials said. Both defendants then fled the scene, authorities said.
The injured victim drove home and called 911. He was taken to Huntington Hospital and received treatment for his injuries. Dekie and Tague were arrested at their homes a few days later.
Suffolk police later obtained text messages between the two outlining their plan to rob and murder the victim, prosecutors said. Tague’s hairbrush was also recovered from the victim’s vehicle.
Dekie and Tague are due back in court on March 2.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
