Daniel Abrego Davila allegedly stabbed victim five times
MINEOLA, N.Y. – Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that a Bronx man was arraigned today on grand jury indictment charges related to the stabbing death of a 39-year old landscaper outside a Hempstead bar in April 2016.
Daniel Abrego Davila, 31, was arraigned today before Supreme Court Justice Alan Honorof on charges of Murder in the 2nd Degree (an A-I felony) and Gang Assault in the 1st Degree (a B violent felony).
The defendant pleaded not guilty and is due back in court on April 7. Davila was remanded and faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison if convicted on the top count.
“This defendant is charged with viciously stabbing a 39-year old man after a petty argument outside a Hempstead bar,” DA Singas said. “Because of the senseless brutality alleged in this indictment, Rolando Cruz lost his life, and his family lost a beloved son and brother.”
DA Singas said that on April 10, 2016, shortly after 1 a.m., victim Rolando Cruz, of Freeport, was leaving the Nuevo Arco Iris bar on Fulton Avenue in Hempstead. As the victim was exiting the establishment, defendants William Lopez, Jorge Poshon, and Daniel Abrego Davila were allegedly attempting to get into the bar but were refused entry by a bouncer. After an exchange of words between the victim and the three men, Cruz was allegedly corralled and a physical confrontation ensued.
Davila allegedly used a knife to stab the victim approximately five times in the neck, torso, arm and back. The victim collapsed on the sidewalk in front of the bar and he was taken by ambulance to Winthrop Hospital. He was pronounced dead at 1:35 a.m. that morning. The defendants allegedly fled the scene and took the murder weapon.
Lopez was arrested in Connecticut by members of the Nassau County Police Department and the Waterbury Police Department and arraigned on September 14. Poshon was arrested on January 13 by members of the NCPD in Freeport, and Davila was arrested on February 19 in Hempstead by members of the Hempstead Police Department and NCPD.
Poshon is due back in court on March 29 and Lopez is due back in court on April 18, both before Judge Honorof.
Assistant District Attorney Veronica Guariglia of DA Singas’ Major Offense Bureau is prosecuting the case. Davila is represented by Robert Schalk, Esq., Lopez is represented by Anthony Rattoballi, Esq. and Poshon is represented by Steven Barnwell, Esq.
The charges are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless found guilty.