Suffolk County homicide detectives have made an arrest in the killing of Robert Casado in Kirk Park in Montauk earlier this month.
Joseph Grippo, a 47-year-old who lives on Old Montauk Highway, has been charged with second-degree murder, Suffolk County police announced late Thursday night. It is the first murder in the Town of East Hampton in a decade, and the first murder in Montauk in 22 years.
"On behalf of the E.H.T.P.D., we would like to express our appreciation and thanks to the Suffolk homicide squad, crime scene investigation unit, and the medical examiner's office for their outstanding work on this tragic case," Town Police Chief Michael Sarlo said. "We hope the arrest begins to bring some closure for the family and friends of the victim, while also giving some relief to the Montauk community. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim's family during this difficult time."
The arrest comes exactly two weeks after Mr. Casado, 38, was found with a serious head injury on a trail that runs between Montauk's Main Street (Route 27) and Second House Road at about 7:30 a.m. The trail is not visible from the street. He was taken to Southampton Hospital, where he died of his injuries.
At the time, police did not know exactly what type of weapon had caused his head injury and were waiting on word from the Suffolk County medical examiner's office.
Mr. Casado, a Dominican national known as Panda to friends, was believed to have been walking to work at Mickey's Carting depot on North Shore Road.
Following an investigation with East Hampton Town police, Suffolk homicide detectives arrested Mr. Grippo at 3:47 p.m.
He is being held overnight at the East Hampton Town Police Department and is scheduled to be arraigned at East Hampton Town Justice Court on Friday.