Joseph Llapa arrested in 2022 shooting outside Smithtown social club, police say

A man wanted in connection with a 2022 shooting in Smithtown was arrested Thursday night after Suffolk County police patrol officers spotted him in a vehicle on Fifth Avenue in Bay Shore — and made a traffic stop.

Police said Joseph Llapa, 22, of Bay Shore, was charged with second-degree assault and first-degree reckless endangerment and was held overnight at the Sixth Precinct. He was arraigned Friday in First District Court in Central Islip.

It was not immediately clear if Llapa is represented by counsel.

Police said detectives believe Llapa shot a 23-year-old man in the arm on West Main Street in Smithtown at about 3:45 a.m. on July 3, 2022. The victim, whose name was not released, told police he had left a nearby social club and was getting into the passenger seat in a car when he was shot. The victim was taken by private vehicle to South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

It was at the hospital, police said, that the victim told investigators details of the shooting — leading them to suspect Llapa.

Police said a warrant had not been issued in the case, but said Third Precinct patrol officers knew Llapa was wanted in connection with the shooting — and were on the lookout for him in the area where the traffic stop was made Thursday night.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”