Brentwood community mourns man slain at grocery

Miguel Peralta was not given to many vices - even when the Brentwood resident bought a lottery ticket, he did so with his family in mind, said a friend.

The friend, Marvin Cueva, was one of several people who spent Sunday placing candles, flowers and pictures of Jesus Christ outside the Brentwood grocery store where Peralta, 57, was shot and killed over the weekend.

Cueva remembered Peralta as a beloved figure in the community, who enjoyed giving fatherly advice to customers and prayed that his next lottery ticket would finance his family's move back to his native Dominican Republic.

Suffolk police are investigating the shooting, which they say happened just before midnight Saturday during a robbery at Hermanos Grocery on Timberline Drive, where Peralta was an employee.

Peralta, who friends said lived with his wife and two children on Chestnut Street, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Police said they are searching for two men who, according to a witness, entered the store with masks on, announced a robbery and shot Peralta while he tried to flee. Det. Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick declined to disclose how much money the men stole but said they "rifled through the cash register."

The crime stunned Hermanos Grocery's regulars, who gathered outside the store Sunday to set up a small tribute. A small sign on the shuttered store read, "Cerrado por hoy" - "Closed for the day."

Peralta also worked as a handyman, Cueva said. He described Peralta as a man who "did his job and went home to be with his kids.

"You just hope the people who did this get what they deserve," said Cueva.

The grocery store is located in a small mini-mall off Second Avenue, about a half-mile from Timberline Park, the site of another recent shooting that gripped the community.

Wilson Batista Jr., 13, was shot at Timberline Park in June after Alexander Aguilar of Deer Park, who police say is a gang member, mistook him for a rival, authorities have said. Batista is recovering while Aguilar is due in First District Court in Central Islip on Oct. 19 to respond to a felony assault charge.

Friends of Peralta said the neighborhood suffers from petty crimes, but the shootings were out of the ordinary. Around the corner from the store, while his patrons talked about the Peralta shooting, Vinardo's Pizza co-owner Justin Bartley agreed.

"I've been here 27 years. You don't see no [metal] roll-downs, do you?" he said.

Peralta's home was filled Sunday with guests who gathered to console the family. Cars lined the street outside the two-story home.

A spokeswoman for the Peraltas said the family was not ready to talk about the shooting.