Corrections officer from Riverhead charged with shooting at passerby
A corrections officer from Riverhead who shot a man allegedly breaking into his home in May has been charged with reckless endangerment for shooting at a passerby during the same incident, court reports show.
John Kwasna, 45, was charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, a felony, on July 25, according to a criminal complaint filed in Riverhead Town Justice Court.
Mr. Kwasna was at his Old Farm Road house about 5 a.m. on May 26 when a man, Thomas Anderson, 33, of Riverhead, ran towards him in a hallway, police said.
Mr. Anderson was shot in the shoulder and fled the scene, police said. He was then discovered a short distance away and arrested by police.
He was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center and later transferred to Stony Brook Medical Center to be treated for his injuries, police said.
Mr. Kwasna pursued Mr. Anderson with a Glock 9-mm handgun, and while showing “a depraved indifference to human life,” shot at a vehicle that was driving away from the residence, hitting the rear passenger-side window, according to the complaint.
However, the car was not being driven by Mr. Anderson, but by another man who was not involved in the alleged burglary. That man drove away from the scene while he was shot at, according to the records.
Mr. Kwasna, who is a Suffolk County corrections officer, is due back in court on Aug. 28, court officials said.
Mr. Kwasna was never charged for shooting the intruder. He could not be reached for comment.
