Riverside NY April 25 2023— A Medford bouncer who beat a bar patron so badly that he died 11 days later in the hospital was convicted of first-degree manslaughter on Monday, Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

David Cruz, 32, faces up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced on May 25.

Thirty-two-year-old Centereach resident Jake Scott called Cruz a “weirdo” earlier in the night on Aug. 21, 202, at Tailgater’s Bar in Holbrook, which might have been “the catalyst” for the argument that caused Cruz to deal a deadly blow, Tierney’s office said.

At around 2:45 a.m., Cruz went outside of the bar and began to argue with Scott, and during the exchange, he repeatedly attempted to draw Scott out of view of the bar’s surveillance cameras, and when he failed, he walked to his vehicle and returned to the front area of the bar a short time later, according to Tierney’s office.

Once there, Cruz dragged a chair over to the bar’s surveillance camera, stood on the chair, took off his shirt, and then covered the security camera, Tierney’s office said, adding that he was unaware a security camera from a nearby business was filming.

Cruz, who stands 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 270 pounds, immediately began to assault Scott after he covered the bar’s security camera, but video footage caught Cruz delivering the first punch while Scott was starting to get up from his seat, Tierney’s office said.

Scott ended up falling onto the cement sidewalk and remained there as Cruz got on top of him, pummeling his head, according to Tierney. When Scott lay motionless and unconscious on the ground, Cruz grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him up, yelling at him to get up, Tierney said.

When Scott did not respond, Cruz dropped him back to the ground and delivered a final blow to Scott’s head before bolting, but surrendered to police three days later, Tierney said.

Scott was taken to Stony Brook University Hospital where he was placed into a medically-induced coma due to a traumatic brain injury with a brain bleed and a complete skull fracture, but died 11 days later.

Tierney said Cruz ’s job as a bouncer “was to protect patrons of the establishment he worked for, and to remove anyone who posed a threat to customers, but it turned out that the only threat to the public on the night of this victim’s tragic death, was the defendant himself.”

“This entire situation could have been de-escalated, but the defendant could not control his temper and beat Jake Scott so badly, that he needed to be placed into a coma and later died due to the severity of his injuries,” he said. “I am thankful that the jury paid careful attention to this case and found the defendant guilty of this violent and senseless crime.”

His attorney, Glenn Obedin of Central Islip, said Scott “wanted to fight” when he first arrived at the bar that evening, but Cruz was doing his job, Newsday reported.

“Only one person had to be there that night; the person who was working,” he said.

Cruz is due back in court on May 25 for sentencing.

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