Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that David Cruz, 32, of Medford, was sentenced to 24 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision after being convicted by a jury last month of Manslaughter in the First Degree, for the 2022 beating death of Jake Scott, 32, of Centereach.
“We are satisfied that justice was served, and that this defendant was held accountable for his actions by the trial jury and now the court,” said District Attorney Tierney. “This lengthy prison sentence will allow the defendant to reflect on the fact that because he chose to violently rob Jake Scott of his life, he will now spend significant time behind bars. While no sentence can bring Mr. Scott back to his friends and family, we hope that this sentence brings some measure of closure.”
The evidence at trial established that on August 21, 2022, Cruz was working as a bouncer at Tailgaters Bar in Holbrook when he got into a verbal dispute with Scott. According to witness testimony, Scott called Cruz a “weirdo” earlier in the evening, which may have been the catalyst for the argument.
At approximately 2:45 a.m., Cruz went outside of the bar and engaged in a further verbal exchange with Scott. During that exchange, Cruz repeatedly attempted to draw Scott out of view of the bar’s surveillance camera.
After failing to lure Scott out of the camera’s view, Cruz walked to his vehicle and returned to the front area of the bar a short time later. Once there, Cruz dragged a chair over to the bar’s surveillance camera, stood on the chair, took off his shirt, and then covered the security camera.
Apparently unaware that a security camera from a nearby business was filming, Cruz, who stands 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 270 pounds, immediately began to assault Scott after he covered the bar’s security camera. The video footage depicted Cruz delivering his first punch while Scott was starting to get up from his seat as Cruz came towards him. The punch caused Scott to fall onto the cement sidewalk. Cruz then grabbed a motionless Scott by his shirt, pulled him up and yelled at him to get up. When Scott did not respond, Cruz dropped him back to the ground and delivered a final blow to Scott’s head before fleeing the scene. Cruz surrendered to police three days later, on August 24, 2022.
Scott was taken to Stony Brook Hospital where he was placed into a medically induced coma. While at the hospital, doctors determined Scott suffered a brain bleed, a complete skull fracture, and a traumatic brain injury. Scott remained in the hospital for 11 days before he succumbed to his injuries and passed away.
On April 24, 2023, Cruz was found guilty after a jury trial heard before Supreme Court Justice, the Honorable John B. Collins, for the crime of Manslaughter in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony. On June 30, 2023, Judge Collins sentenced Cruz to 24 years in prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision. Cruz was represented by Javier Solano, Esq.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Scott Romano and Elizabeth Creighton of the Major Crime Bureau, with investigative assistance from Suffolk County Police Department Detectives Richard Jones of the Homicide Squad and Matthew Messina of the Fifth Squad.
Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.