Ret. FDNY captain gets 5 years' probation in fatal Bay Shore brawl; victim had heart attack at same time
The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office now says the victim had a pre-existing heart condition and experienced a heart attack during the fight.
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A retired FDNY captain was sentenced Monday to five years' probation in connection with the killing of a man over money outside a Bay Shore church Alcoholics Anonymous meeting last year.
As previously reported, prosecutors said James Rogers repeatedly slammed Mark Iacono's face into the ground and kicked him during an altercation in the parking lot of the United Methodist Church. Iacono was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office now says the victim had a pre-existing heart condition and experienced a heart attack during the fight.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the district attorney's office said that after "an exhaustive year-and-a-half investigation," the only charge supported by the evidence was criminally negligent homicide.
"This was an unfortunate case involving a very brief physical altercation between two 65-year-old men, one of whom, the victim, had a very serious pre-existing heart condition and suffered a heart attack during the encounter," the spokesperson said. "Our condolences remain with the victim's loved ones as this case comes to an appropriate disposition."
Rogers' probation comes with drug, alcohol and anger management conditions.
