Huntington Station, NY - March 28, 2017 - A Huntington Station man arrested for breaking into a home on Fox Hunt Lane in Cold Spring Harbor last Thanksgiving night pleaded not guilty to a an eight count indictment in Riverhead today, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota said.
State Supreme Court Justice William Condon set cash bail for Jeffrey Rice at one million dollars, or two million dollars bond.
Rice is charged with five counts of burglary, one count of assault in the second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree and endangering the welfare of a child.
Rice allegedly entered the house through an unlocked door, got a kitchen knife and confronted a young girl and her elderly aunt on the second floor. District Attorney Spota said Rice punched the 85-year old woman “in the face numerous times with a closed fist causing extreme swelling and bruising”.
“The assault charge in the indictment specifically addresses Rice’s violent attack on the senior citizen charging him with intent to cause physical injury to her, a person 65 years or older,” DA Spota said. Assault in the second degree is a class “D” felony punishable by a maximum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment. The top count in the indictment, burglary in the first degree, is punishable by a maximum 25 years imprisonment.
The homeowner, armed with a baseball bat, disarmed and subdued Rice. The defendant is a prior violent felon who served four years in prison for slashing a security guard who attempted to stop Rice in a Miller Place supermarket from shoplifting five video games in 2003.
A criminal charge is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.