Incident location, Long Island
What Happened
A 25-year-old Mastic man is facing arraignment on two felony assault charges after he allegedly stabbed a 71-year-old man in the neck during a road rage confrontation on Ditmas Avenue in Mastic on Tuesday morning, according to Greater Long Island.
The incident began at approximately 9:10 a.m. Tuesday when motorists from two separate vehicles became involved in a dispute while traveling on Ditmas Avenue. Jeremiah Giraud was riding as a passenger — not the driver — in a 2005 Nissan when he became embroiled in a conflict with the driver of the other vehicle, per Greater Long Island. Both cars pulled over to the side of the road, and the men exited their vehicles. What followed, according to police, was a verbal exchange that rapidly escalated: Giraud allegedly produced a knife and stabbed the 71-year-old man in the neck.
Following the attack, Giraud got back into the 2005 Nissan, which then fled westbound on Ditmas Avenue. The victim, whose name has not been publicly released, was transported to a local hospital. Authorities described his injuries as non-life-threatening.
News 12 Long Island reported that the outlet obtained exclusive surveillance video of the incident — footage that likely aided the investigation as officers worked to track down Giraud and the fleeing vehicle. Suffolk County Police Seventh Precinct patrol officers quickly broadcast a description of the 2005 Nissan following the attack.
Officers located the Nissan unoccupied in the parking lot of the Family Dollar store at 1600 Montauk Highway in Mastic. With the vehicle abandoned, officers began canvassing the nearby store and found Giraud hiding inside the Family Dollar. He was taken into custody at approximately 10:45 a.m. — about an hour and a half after the original stabbing — according to Greater Long Island. Giraud spent Tuesday night in jail at Suffolk Police’s Seventh Precinct.
Giraud was set to appear Wednesday at First District Court in Central Islip for arraignment on the charges. No information has been released identifying the driver of the 2005 Nissan, and it is not immediately clear whether that individual faces any charges in connection with the incident.
Location & Road Context
Ditmas Avenue in Mastic is a local roadway in the Mastic area of the Town of Brookhaven in eastern Suffolk County. The area surrounding the incident — and where the suspect was ultimately apprehended — sits along Montauk Highway (Route 27A), one of the primary commercial and transit corridors serving the South Shore communities of Mastic, Shirley, and Mastic Beach. The Family Dollar at 1600 Montauk Highway, where Giraud was found hiding, sits just a short distance from the scene of the stabbing.
Mastic has seen other serious roadway incidents in recent months. In late April, a Mastic woman was seriously injured in a rush-hour Sunrise Highway crash, underscoring the ongoing dangers facing motorists in the community. For real-time traffic conditions along Montauk Highway and surrounding roads in the Mastic area, visit our towns page.
Investigation & Legal Proceedings
Jeremiah Giraud, 25, of Mastic, faces two felony counts of second-degree assault. The first count addresses intentionally causing physical injury to another person using a weapon. The second count invokes a specific provision of New York law that elevates the assault charge when the victim is 65 years of age or older — a charge designed to provide enhanced legal protection for elderly victims of violent crime. Both counts are classified as felonies, according to Greater Long Island.
Giraud was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday at First District Court in Central Islip. No bail information had been publicly released at the time of reporting, and the investigation remains ongoing. Suffolk County Police’s Seventh Precinct is handling the case. The identity of the Nissan’s driver — and what role, if any, that person may play in subsequent proceedings — had not been addressed by authorities as of the time of publication.
Broader Impact
New York’s second-degree assault statute includes an “elderly victim” enhancement — a felony-level provision specifically designed to punish violence against individuals aged 65 and older more severely than standard assault charges. In this case, that enhancement means Giraud faces a second, separate felony count solely because of his victim’s age, potentially increasing his exposure to prison time and other penalties well beyond what a standard second-degree assault charge would carry on its own.