Alleged Tanger stabber held on $100K bail
A Calverton Hills man who was arrested yesterday for allegedly stabbing his girlfriend at Tanger Outlets and fleeing to Mastic will face a pair of felony charges and is being held on $100,000 bail.
He’s due back in court on Friday after a county prosecutor said more charges may be forthcoming.
Paul Thompson, 24, of Wooded Way, got into a domestic dispute with his girlfriend at the Riverhead outlet center about 8 p.m. Saturday and stabbed her “multiple times,” according to assistant district Attorney Will Nash.
Mr. Nash added that after the stabbing, Mr. Thompson – who has previously been convicted of a felony and five misdemeanors – took the woman’s cell phone from her, stealing the chance for her to call authorities.
But she eventually escaped near Midway Drive in Riverhead, where she was able to get help at a nearby home, Riverhead Town police had said.
Mr. Thompson allegedly fled the scene and was captured by town police in Mastic on Sunday.
Mr. Nash requested $300,000 cash bail or $600,000 bond, noting Mr. Thompson’s “substantial contact with the criminal justice system” in the past, the fact that he may have an open warrant against him, and he reportedly has failed to appear in court on two separate occasions.
Mr. Thompson will face charges of second-degree assault, grand larceny in the fourth degree – both felonies – as well as petit larceny, criminal mischief and criminal obstruction of breathing, he said.
However he added that more charges may be forthcoming before Mr. Thompson is due back in court Friday.
Mr. Thompson’s defense attorney, Daniel Ginty, with the Legal Aid Society, asked for lesser bail, though did not specify a number, pointing out that Mr. Thompson had family in court to support him.
The family members declined to comment to a reporter outside the courtroom.
Riverhead Town Justice Richard Ehlers set bail at $100,000 cash or credit card, declining bond for Mr. Thompson.
The victim of Saturday’s incident, Mr. Nash said, suffered “significant blood loss” and eventually required surgery at Stony Brook University Hospital after she was initially transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center.
