Dominick Tullon, of Coram, faces attempted murder charge for shooting a man over $25 marijuana debt, officials say
Dominick Tullon, 18, of Coram, faces an attempted murder charge after Suffolk prosecutors said he shot a man over a $25 marijuana debt. Credit: Paul Mazza
A Coram teen has been arraigned on an attempted murder charge after Suffolk prosecutors said he shot a man over a $25 marijuana debt.
The man he allegedly shot now has a bullet lodged near his spine, prosecutors said.
Dominick Tullon, 18, was arraigned Thursday before Suffolk Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro on the attempted murder charge along with four additional felony counts, of assault, criminal use of a firearm, criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment.
Tullon, who faces 5 to 25 years in prison if convicted of the top count, pleaded not guilty to all charges but was ordered held while the case is pending. His lawyer, Matthew Tuohy, could not be reached for comment Friday.
“This defendant allegedly fired four shots at this man and his family outside an occupied apartment building, all over a $25 debt,” Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said in a news release. “There is no place in Suffolk County for such careless violence.”
Prosecutors said that on March 22, Tullon went to the victim’s apartment with two companions seeking to collect $25 owed by the victim’s 16-year-old stepson. The debt collectors argued with the victim and his family outside; after the victim told his family to go inside, Tullon pulled a handgun from his fanny pack and fired shots, hitting the man, his doorframe and a neighbor's apartment.
Tullon and his companions fled but he returned about 20 minutes later with his hands raised and was taken into custody.
The prosecutors’ release does not name the victim, whom Suffolk police previously said was a 38-year-old resident of an apartment complex on Country Club Drive in Coram. The release said doctors have determined that removing the bullet would risk paralysis.
Tullon is due back in Suffolk County Court in Riverhead May 19.
Nicholas Spangler is a general assignment reporter and has worked at Newsday since 2010.
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