Neighbor on party shooting: Dix Hills house 'run like a nightclub'

Suffolk police and other officials will be closely monitoring a Dix Hills house that was the scene of a massive party that resulted in a shooting last weekend.

The Saturday night party forced Suffolk police to issue a rare call for officers to respond to a chaotic scene, as multiple fights broke out among partygoers.

“They were patting people down, the security guards, they were collecting money at the end of the driveway,” neighbor Diane Lettieri said of the parties she said had been taking place at the 2 Langhans Court location during the summer. “It was run like a nightclub, it wasn’t a house party.”

Lettieri described the parties as a “dangerous situation” where she’s afraid to let her 18-year-old daughter walk down her cul-de-sac street because it’s littered with syringes and overrun by partygoers and their cars.

Lettieri said she took to Facebook on Tuesday to alert other community members about a potential upcoming party scheduled for this Saturday called the “Summer Drip Fest” at an unknown location.

Huntington Town Supervisor Chad Lupinacci said he believes the “Summer Drip Fest” was originally supposed to be held in Huntington Town, but it might have been moved to the Town of Oyster Bay. He said the town’s public safety department has reached out to Oyster Bay officials to alert them the event may be coming their way.

Suffolk police Chief of Department Stuart Cameron said officers had been called to 2 Langhans Court in July, in 2015 and 2016, after neighbors complained about noise.

Hundreds of revelers were attending the party on Saturday when four police cruisers arrived after calls from neighbors. When a gunshot was heard, the arriving officers immediately requested an unusual “districtwide mobilization,” Cameron said.

The call-out — typically only used once a year — brought more than 50 officers in “tens of cars” from Nassau, Suffolk and the State Police, as well as a helicopter, Cameron said.

A man was shot once in the arm in the home’s backyard, police said. No arrests related to the shooting have been made, but police charged the homeowner, Rodney Jones, 45, with criminal nuisance.

Jones could not be reached for comment. He was issued a desk appearance ticket and is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 30.

Two other men were charged with second-degree obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest.

A listing on Eventbrite.com called the party “Super Soak-Her” and advertised a cash bar, bottle service and DJs and $25 advance tickets. Efforts to reach the organizers were unsuccessful.

Cameron said his department monitors social media for parties and tries to reach out to homeowners proactively to discuss underage drinking, noise violations, fireworks and other legalities before a party gets out of hand.

“That way there’s no ambiguity before the party starts,” he said.

House parties are sometimes advertised on social media with “secret locations” that are not revealed until a ticket is purchased — to try and thwart law enforcement, officials said.

“This is kind of an adaptation, they used to advertise and give locations of parties,” Cameron said, declining to elaborate how his department monitors these parties because it could lead to further variations. “Social media definitely complicates a lot of issues for us.”

Huntington Town officials, who have jurisdiction over where Saturday’s shooting occurred, said they did not receive complaints about the Langhans Court home previously, but they said they got more than 20 complaints about another Saturday party on Branwood Drive in Dix Hills.

Town officials are investigating both house parties from Saturday. The town’s public safety department reached out to the homeowner, who promised to cancel a scheduled Labor Day weekend party.

“At this point, we’re going to see if we need to make any changes to our town code,” Lupinacci said.