Alex Reyes, of Brentwood, charged with killing Central Islip man, police say

A 21-year-old man has been charged with killing a Central Islip man whose body was found Sunday in the parking lot of a Brentwood pizzeria, Suffolk police said.

Alex Reyes, of Brentwood, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Alexander Velasquez, 46, police said. He was held overnight and arraigned on Tuesday, though details were not immediately available.

Velasquez was discovered after police responded to a 911 call at 4:40 a.m. Sunday reporting an adult male on the ground in a parking lot on Clarke Street, according to a department news release.

The circumstances behind the incident were not immediately clear.

Frank Sciara, the owner of neighboring Tony’s Pizzeria and Restaurant, said the area around his shop was closed off for nearly 10 hours while police investigated. He and his wife had to delay opening the business they acquired in 1998 until 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Sciara said they have never experienced anything similar in their decades running the restaurant. He said it wasn’t clear how Velasquez was injured and police declined to share more than the most basic information with him while they investigated outside.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.