New Bail Cases Fuel Push for Judicial Discretion

With the announcement of a new bill aimed at reforming the criminal justice system, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney cited a string of disturbing cases in which he said New York’s bail laws prevented prosecutors from seeking detention despite the seriousness of the allegations.

The cases range from the dismemberment of two murder victims and the alleged rape of a 5-year-old girl to an arson at a Wading River restaurant and the discovery of Molotov cocktails in a car allegedly headed to firebomb another vehicle.

“Judges must be allowed to consider the dangerousness; prosecutors must be allowed to argue dangerousness,” Tierney said, arguing that New York’s laws too often prevent courts from considering the threat a defendant may pose when making pretrial release decisions.

One of the most notorious examples came in March 2024, when four people were arrested after human remains belonging to a Yonkers couple were discovered scattered in Babylon and Bethpage State Park. Four suspects were initially charged with offenses including concealment of a human corpse, hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence.

Because the initial charges were not bail eligible, the defendants were released despite prosecutors saying investigators had recovered evidence that included blood, butcher knives and meat cleavers. They were subsequently indicted on more serious charges in connection with the killings and dismemberment.

Another case involved a 27-year-old man accused of raping a 5-year-old girl he had been babysitting in February. The child was taken to a hospital while still bleeding and ultimately required surgery to repair internal injuries, according to prosecutors.

At the time of the defendant’s initial arrest, investigators were still awaiting forensic evidence and could charge him only with endangering the welfare of a child — an offense that was not bail eligible. Prosecutors instead arranged for him to receive a desk appearance ticket at the police precinct, allowing federal immigration agents to take him into custody. DNA evidence was subsequently obtained and the man was indicted on predatory sexual assault against a child, first-degree rape and other charges. He was then ordered held without bail.

Tierney also pointed to the November 2025 fire at Pazzo Ristorante and Wood Fired Pizzeria in Wading River. A former employee was accused of deliberately setting the restaurant ablaze after investigators found seven separate points of origin and a bottle of charcoal lighter fluid. Surveillance video allegedly traced his movements before and after the fire, and an accelerant-detection dog later alerted on clothing recovered from his home.

Despite being indicted on third-degree arson, burglary and criminal mischief charges, the suspect could not be held on bail because the offenses charged were not qualifying offenses under state law.

Another case unfolded in Brentwood in March, when police stopped a car and allegedly discovered two Molotov cocktails made from beer bottles, along with a container of gasoline. Prosecutors said three suspects planned to firebomb the vehicle of a person involved in an earlier dispute. Authorities reported possible ties to MS-13.

All three were released after their initial arraignments because the weapons charge available to prosecutors was not bail eligible. A fourth defendant was later arrested, and all four were indicted on conspiracy charges. They again had to be released because the crimes remained non-bail eligible.

The cases were cited as lawmakers unveiled a bill sponsored by state Sen. Dean Murray and Assemblyman Joseph DeStefano that would make any crime in which a defendant is alleged to have caused physical, psychological or emotional harm to a child under 18 a qualifying offense for purposes of bail.

For Tierney, the broader issue goes beyond the individual bill. “These are just a few examples,” he said. “We’re asking for some help. We need laws that make sense.”