By Samuel Rubenfeld
A former University student was convicted last Wednesday for pistol-whipping a campus drug dealer over “territory” in a Nov. 6, 2006 altercation that occurred in Nassau Hall.
Daniel Tisone, 20, of Springfield, Va., was the last person of the three involved to be convicted for the pistol-whipping incident. Tisone, along with Andrew Parker, 21, of Uniondale, and Evan Steele, 20, of Bellair, Fla., will be sentenced Nov. 28 by Acting State Supreme Court Justice Alan Honorof.
Tisone was convicted of first- and second-degree attempted robbery and first-degree assault. He could face three and a half to 15 years in prison.
“It was over territory as opposed to who sold what to who,” said John O’Malley, the assistant director of Public Safety, who testified at all three cases.
Parker has already been convicted, and Steele took a plea bargain midway through his trial, O’Malley said. In exchange for testimony against Tisone and Parker, Steele pled guilty to one felony and one misdemeanor.
Tisone pistol-whipped Donald Stanton at his dorm room door on the first floor of Nassau Hall using a Tech-9 pistol supplied by Andrew Parker. Steele was the driver; he waited in the car as Tisone and Parker entered the residence hall without giving identification to the Resident Safety Representative.
Public Safety worked with The Nassau County Police Department in the investigation, O’Malley said. “We helped I.D. the individuals, secured witnesses and testified at the trials,” he added.
Stanton was the only person involved who lived on campus. The three defendants all lived together in a house “on side streets adjacent to campus,” O’Malley said.
Parker was the principal weapons supplier and drug dealer, O’Malley said. Upon searching Parker’s property, police discovered an AR-15 assault rifle.
Police also found small amounts of drugs in the house, O’Malley said.
Prosecutor Joseph LaRocca could not be reached for comment, but his closing arguments were quoted in Newsday on Oct. 24.
“This is not a case of boys will be boys,” LaRocca said. “It’s bullets will be bullets.”