Bay Shore man pleads not guilty to killing man with wrench

A Bay Shore man pleaded not guilty to a charge of second-degree murder for allegedly striking a Brentwood man with a lug wrench, an attack that left the victim on life support until his death, officials said.

Ricardo Siguenza, 32, of Bay Shore, was indicted Friday after fatally attacking Carlos Edenilson Cabrera Alvarez, 44, of Brentwood with the tool, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Around 6:47 p.m. on Feb. 25, the two men were walking toward each other on Main Street in Bay Shore, according to a release from Tierney’s office. Cabrera Alvarez was heading east while Siguenza was walking west with a lug wrench, often referred to as a tire iron, by his side.

As the men neared one another, “Siguenza allegedly reached back with his right hand, swung the wrench and struck Cabrera Alvarez in the head,” Tierney’s office said. Immediately after the attack, Cabrera Alvarez “stumbled forward and fell to the ground” while Siguenza kept walking west. It has not yet been determined if the two men knew each other.

“The brazen violence alleged here is inexplicable and will not be tolerated in Suffolk County,” Tierney said in a statement.

Suffolk police arrested Siguenza in the early hours of the following morning, after he tried to enter Goody Two Shoes, a Main Street bar, around 12:50 a.m. on Feb. 26, according to the district attorney. One of the employees still inside the bar with the doors locked called 911 because he allegedly recognized Siguenza from surveillance footage he saw of the attack.

On Friday, Siguenza pleaded not guilty before acting state Supreme Court Justice Anthony S. Senft Jr. at Suffolk County Court in Riverhead for second-degree murder, according to court documents. The judge ordered Siguenza to be remanded as the case continues.

When reached by telephone Friday evening, George Duncan, Siguenza’s defense attorney, said, “We’re maintaining our innocence and we’re looking forward to reviewing the discovery when we receive it.”

Siguenza is scheduled to return to court on May 2, the district attorney’s office said. He faces 25 years to life behind bars if convicted on the top charge.