Wyandanch man, 19, indicted in gang shooting at Bellport LIRR station that wounded bystander

A Wyandanch man fired at a perceived gang rival on the Bellport Long Island Rail Road platform, and the bullet tore through the target’s shoulder and into a bystander, prosecutors said Thursday.

Jahmez Cureton, 19, was arraigned Thursday on a grand jury indictment charging him with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree attempted assault and a bevy of other felony charges, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said.

Two alleged accomplices are also in custody. Javar Baskerville, 18, of Huntington, and a 17-year-old who was not named each face a second-degree attempted murder charge, prosecutors said.

“As alleged, these defendants displayed a complete disregard for human life when they targeted a perceived rival and opened fire on a public train platform, striking two people,” Tierney said.

Prosecutors said Cureton, Baskerville and the 17-year-old, all alleged members of the Crips street gang, boarded an eastbound train at Jamaica Station with another associate about 1:05 a.m. on Oct. 9.

Once aboard, the group spotted a member of an opposing gang. They pulled on masks and gloves and waited by the exit door to see where he would get off, according to Tierney.

When the train pulled into Bellport about 2:25 a.m., the group saw their target get off the train. They also exited and started walking down the exit ramp, prosecutors said.

Cureton then reached for a gun, wheeled around, ran back toward the platform and fired, Tierney said.

The bullet passed through the target’s right shoulder and struck the passenger in his right shoulder. Both men were treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries and released.

The wounded passenger stayed on the train and got help at the Mastic-Shirley station, ABC7 reported at the time. NBC New York reported that the passenger was 40 and the intended target was 17.

MTA police arrested Cureton on Oct. 13 at the Deer Park LIRR station and recovered a gray-and-blue camouflage mask he allegedly wore during the shooting, prosecutors said.

Baskerville was arrested Oct. 28 outside a Bellport home. The 17-year-old was arrested the next day at Stony Brook University Hospital, where he was being treated for wounds he allegedly suffered in a separate gang-related shooting, the district attorney’s office reported.

Supreme Court Justice Steven Pilewski ordered Cureton held without bail. He is due back in front of the judge Dec. 10 and faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of the top count.

Baskerville and the 17-year-old were each ordered held on $250,000 cash, $500,000 bond or a $2.5 million partially secured bond. Each faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of the top count, prosecutors said.

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_{Top: Bellport train station (Google Maps Street View).}