New Jersey man fired gun, pointed it at Lyft driver during Hamptons standoff

Cops nabbed Patrick Santos, 34, after a search of a Noyac home turned up an imitation handgun and ammunition, police said

A New Jersey man fired a what appeared and sounded like a real gun into the air and pointed it at his Lyft driver outside a Noyac home Sunday night, triggering a huge police response that ended with the man in handcuffs, Southampton Town Police said on Monday.

A Lyft driver called 911 about 9:30 p.m., saying he had picked up a fare in Sag Harbor and was taking him to a home in Noyac. The driver noted that his passenger, identified by cops as 34-year-old Patrick Santos of New Jersey, was belligerent, drunk and had held a handgun out the car window during the ride, “dry-firing” it at one point, police said.

When the driver arrived at the Noyac residence, the passenger pointed the handgun at him through the window before getting out, police said. The man then fired multiple rounds into the air while standing in the driveway.

At that point, the driver drove off and called 911. Meanwhile, Santos sauntered into the home, according to police.

Southampton Town Police patrol and Community Response Unit officers evacuated nearby residences as a precaution when they arrived at the scene, police said. The department’s drone and emergency services units, detectives, and crisis negotiators responded, along with a Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office K-9 team.

Santos was initially inside the house with three other people, but all three were safely evacuated before Santos was arrested, police said. Inside the home, investigators found an imitation handgun and ammunition, authorities said.

Santos is charged with second-degree menacing and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

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