On his second patrol around St. Patrick's Church in Glen Cove the night of Saturday, Aug. 28, Officer David Sucharski happened to notice graffiti on the wall that hadn't been there minutes before when he made his first go-round. He also spotted a man standing near the front wall of the church. Officer Sucharski and Officer David Leon stopped to speak with the 22-year-old Glen Cove man and observed that his hands were wet with paint and he had a spray paint can sticking out of his pocket. On further investigation while the man was being placed under arrest for the act of vandalism, the officers recovered a 27-inch machete concealed inside of the man's pants, rigged up and hooked to his belt and running down the inside of his pant leg. The defendant was also found to have an unrelated prior felony conviction and was consequently charged with the more serious crime of felony weapons possession along with the graffiti charge. He is also being questioned in prior graffiti crimes. If convicted, the man faces two-and-a-half to seven years in prison.

According to Det. Sgt. Tom Fitzpatrick of the Glen Cove Police Department, the defendant does not face any additional charges because the weapon was concealed.

The defendant made no attempt to use the weapon upon his arrest.