Steven Frigand of North Massapequa gets 10 years after allegedly shooting at home

A North Massapequa man was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison on gun and drug charges after prosecutors said he fired multiple shots from his basement apartment into a neighbor’s home, nearly hitting a sleeping child.

Steven Frigand, 58, pleaded guilty in July to charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance, two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment.

Prosecutors said he opened fire just before 1 a.m. on Aug. 20, 2023, firing dozens of rounds into neighboring homes from his apartment on Sussex Avenue in North Massapequa.

The shooting included two bullets fired into a house next door, where a homeowner had gone to check if a child was sleeping in his bed. Other bullets went through a fence and struck a neighboring house as well as a home behind the apartment, prosecutors said.

The shooting prompted an hour-long standoff with police before Frigand was taken to Nassau University Medical Center. His lawyer previously said he was experiencing a mental health crisis.

Police searched his apartment where they seized a pound of cocaine, 18 firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

“Steven Frigand willfully disregarded the safety of his neighbors when he fired a gun from his basement dozens of times in the middle of the night — with one of those shots buzzing right over a sleeping child in his bedroom next door,” Nassau. District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement. “This defendant’s actions were extremely reckless and fortunately no injuries resulted. The shooting led investigators to an alarming haul of illegal guns and a pound of cocaine. We continue to fight to get illegal guns off the streets so Nassau County residents can always feel safe in their communities and homes.”

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.