NY bar bouncer gets 24 years in prison for beating patron to death unprovoked
Holbrook NY July 2, 2023 A Suffolk County bar bouncer was sentenced to 24 years in prison on Friday for beating a patron to death last year.
David Cruz, 32, beat Jake Scott to death unprovoked outside Tailgaters Sports Bar in Holbrook in the early hours of Aug. 21, 2022.
Cruz broke up an argument between Scott and two other bar patrons late Aug. 20. During this incident, Scott reportedly insulted Cruz, but cooler heads prevailed and everyone went about their night.
About four hours later around 2:45 a.m., Cruz covered a nearby surveillance camera with his shirt, approached Scott, who was sitting outside the bar, and knocked him unconscious.
A surveillance camera from another nearby business captured footage of the scene. The video showed Scott fall to the ground after he was punched by Cruz. The bouncer proceeded to grab Scott by his shirt and yell at him to get up. When Scott didn’t answer, Cruz dropped him on the ground and again punched him in the head.
Emergency responders brought Scott to Stony Brook University Hospital with a brain bleed and skull fracture. Doctors placed him in a medically induced coma, and he died at the hospital 11 days later.
Cruz was convicted of manslaughter on April 24. A judge sentenced him to 24 years in prison on Friday, just a year short of the 25-year maximum sentence.
Cruz’s attorney said his client intends to appeal the sentence, Newsday reported.
