Suspects Plead Not Guilty to 2010 Homicides

A Yaphank man, described by Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota as “a high-ranking member of the Crips street gang,” pleaded not guilty in Suffolk County court Tueday to a pair of murders last year in Lake Ronkonkoma and Holbrook.

Spota said the shootings by of , 51, last May in Lake Ronkonkoma and John Williams, 39, last October in Holbrook were “cold-blooded, execution-style murders.” 

“The catalyst behind the fatal shooting of the construction worker last spring was Ross’ anger after a verbal dispute the pair had about heavy traffic at the construction site that Hirt worked at,” Spota said. 

According to Spota, the defendant stalked the victim for nearly two weeks until May 24, 2010 when at around 7 a.m. he pulled up alongside Hirt as he was eating his breakfast in his car parked on Beech Street near Portion Road.  Ross fired one fatal shot from a .45 into Hirt’s neck. 

According to the indictment, the second homicide on Oct. 14, 2010 in Holbrook of Williams occurred at 6:00 a.m. as the victim was preparing to leave for work. 

Ross and another man, Luis Cherry, 20, of Queens, who we also believe to be a member of the Crips street gang, shot four times at point-blank range as the victim sat in his Nissan Sentra in front of his home on Geery Avenue, Spota said. 

The district attorney said Ross killed Williams to lure another man, a friend of the victim, to Long Island.

“The victim, John Williams, had a friend who Ross claimed owed him a large amount of money from a drug deal,” said Spota.  “Williams’s murder was to lure this man to Long Island for Williams’ funeral where Ross planned to kill his target because of a drug debt.”

The district attorney said Suffolk homicide detectives retrieved a pack of Newport cigarettes from the crime scene near where a witness said an unfamiliar SUV had been parked on the morning of the Williams homicide. 

“The Suffolk Crime Lab was successful in lifting a latent thumb print from the cigarette pack that led law enforcement to Cherry,” Spota said.

Ross pleaded not guilty to two counts of second degree murder, three counts of criminal possession of a weapon third degree, one charge of criminal possession of stolen property fourth degree, three counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance third degree and one count of marijuana possession.  

For Cherry’s involvement in the murder of Williams, he is charged in the indictment with one count of second-degree murder and one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. 

Suffolk County Judge James Hudson ordered both men held without bail.