Young Man Charged With Assault After Fight in Upper Port

A young man was arrested on Main Street in Port Jefferson at about 9:40 a.m. on Monday morning and charged with assault after he punched a 34-year old man who stepped in during an altercation, according to a witness and police. None of the people involved were identified.

Barbara Sabatino, owner of at 1612 Main Street, said that a man entered her store with blood on his face and asked her brother, Peter Sabatino, who was working at the store that morning, to call police.

“The kid kind of just exploded and hit a guy on the street,” Ms. Sabatino said over the phone. “A good Samaritan came over and said to leave him alone.”

The youth then punched the second man who was trying to offer assistance. He then went into the store to get help and Mr. Sabatino called 911.

“He was just a very angry kid,” Ms. Sabatino said. “From what I understand he has anger issues and just lashed out.”

She said that later on in the afternoon the young man came back into the store to apologize.

“He knew he was wrong,” she said. “The police said that the kid just has a lot of problems.”

Residents have near the Long Island Railroad station before but Ms. Sabatino said that fights like this are not all that common.

“Every once in a while you have a drunk who will beat up someone else but something like this doesn’t happen very often,” she said. “Generally I feel safe. You can be at Smithaven Mall and something can happen.”

The young man who was arrested will appear in family court at a later date, according to police.