At last Wednesday's public meeting, the Mineola Village Board of Trustees addressed the murder of Jose Alberto Martinez, the Mineola man who was gunned down on March 1 while walking home from work, and attempted to reassure residents the village is safe.

Nassau County Police Officer Harold Reddan, who covers Mineola as a member of the Problem Oriented Policing Department in the 3rd Precinct, spoke to residents at the meeting and agreed to make monthly visits to board meetings to hear residents' concerns.

Reddan discredited rumors that the shooting might have been gang related. Martinez, 32, was shot once in the chest while walking to his Washington Avenue home after his shift ended at TJ Pooles Restaurant. According to Reddan, Martinez knew his assailant, who has yet to be caught or identified.

"It was more personal than anything else," Reddan said. "We have no evidence that it was gang related. [Martinez] got paid, he had money in his pocket and the [shooter] knew this. He wanted the money and had a gun; that's a bad combination."

Reddan said he believes the police will catch up with the assailant.

"We have some pretty good leads," he said. "Will we catch the guy? I think so, and at the very least we'll find out who did it."

Mayor John Colbert also spoke of the rumors that the incident was a gang shooting and tried to put the public at ease.

"We were told it was not gang related, that it was an isolated case and the assailant was known to the person who died," Colbert said. "It's not like we have a mass murderer on the loose."

Reddan, who works exclusively in Mineola, said that gang activity in the area has been on the decline, and that police presence in the village has been stepped up.

"When it comes to gangs, there are a couple who live here and do their gang stuff elsewhere, and some others who don't live in Mineola who do their work here. The village is covered very well. The officer [who responded to the shooting, James Whittaker] was there within a minute. That's a pretty good response time. Unfortunately, it was too late."

Reddan also told residents not to hesitate to call 911 or his office (573-6370) if they see anything suspicious. Although he warned people to travel in pairs at night to be on the safe side, he said he doesn't fear for his own children who attend Chaminade High School.

"I'm not finding weapons on kids," Reddan said. "If I thought a lot of weapons were here I would be giving you a lesson on safety, but I'm not afraid for my kids who go to Chaminade."