A security guard allegedly attacked a retired firefighter who wanted to visit a friend at his Mount Sinai home on Long Island last Wednesday.
On Aug. 15 at around 3 p.m., a former 68-year-old firefighter, Jack Carter of Centereach, wanted to visit his friend John Parks at the Mount Sinai compound.
However, the security guard, 50-year-old John Ruggiero, a former NYPD officer of Port Jefferson Station who was commissioned with the task of protecting its residents and its guests, allegedly did not allow him into The Ranches condo complex, located on Route 25A, according to Eyewitness News.
An altercation between the two ensued, which escalated into a fight. Parks said Carter called him on the phone, and he could hear them arguing. Then, his phone went dead, and Parks took his bicycle to help get his friend out of trouble, he told the outlet.
“I could hear them arguing back and forth, and the phone went dead,” Parks said, “and when I went down there on my bicycle, Jack was laying in the road, covered in blood.”
Parks found his friend in a coma. Another resident was performing CPR on Carter as did Parks. Meanwhile, Ruggiero allegedly threatened Parks by saying, “You want some of that?” according to Parks.
Security guard busted while wearing ‘You have the right to remain an idiot’ shirt https://t.co/13IJWTCxbB pic.twitter.com/tJJziVbol7
— New York Post (@nypost) August 15, 2019
According to Ruggiero’s attorney William Keahon, it was Carter who attacked his client first, which is why Ruggiero incurred several injuries, hence, the bandage on Ruggiero’s eyebrow, he said.
“You saw the bruising and the black eye and the bandage on my client’s face. He knocked my client to the ground, punched him a number of other times,” Keahon said. But Parks contended that Carter isn’t an aggressive type, the outlet reported.
According to prosecutors, Ruggiero punched Carter several times even when the latter was already down on the ground.
A retired NYPD cop who works as a security guard for a Long Island gated community has been arrested for brutally beating a 68-year-old retired firefighter (who was just trying to visit a friend) & leaving him in a coma. https://t.co/z3ThiZJJa3
— Ash J (@AshAgony) August 16, 2019
Later, Ruggiero got arrested on charges of second-degree assault. On his way to his arraignment on Thursday, Ruggiero wore a T-shirt that read: “Warning: You have the right to Remain an Idiot. Everything YOU say can and will be IGNORED.” It was apparently an allusion to his Miranda rights.
When a reporter asked, “Did you assault that man?” Ruggiero in handcuffs and accompanied by a female officer half his size, said, “Just doing my job…security.”
Security guard accused of assaulting man at Mount Sinai complex. #News12LIhttps://t.co/hcnCo4n51u
— Darius Radzius (@DariusRadzius) August 16, 2019
Later, he was accompanied on his way out by his fiancée, who hysterically screamed, “Get out of my face!” as he was released on a $7,500 bail.
Carter was taken to Stony Brook Hospital and is “in horrible shape” according to Parks. He suffered multiple serious injuries, including facial fractures and cerebral hemorrhage and is still in a coma and on a respirator.
Carter recently got married has his newlywed at his bedside. Meanwhile, Parks called for prayer for Carter’s swift recovery.
Ruggiero will make his next appearance in court on Sept. 24.
