DA: Huntington Station Man Charged With Manslaughter For Shooting Fleeing Burglar

A Huntington Station man who shot and killed a man who was fleeing the scene of an attempted burglary pleaded not guilty Monday to charges of second degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. 

Prosecutors say Youssef Abdelgawad, 25, recklessly caused the death of 33-year-old Jazzmen Bryant, of Roosevelt, on Aug. 21 last year after Bryant and four others attempted to break into Abdelgawad's home on 7th Avenue in Huntington Station. 

According to prosecutors, Bryant and three others hid behind a metal shed in the backyard of Abdelgawad's home, which Abdelgawad shared with his brother and parents, as another man armed with a pellet gun, approached a sliding door at the rear of the house.

Following a confrontation at the door with Abdelgawad's brother and two others, the men fled the scene, prosecutors say. 

Youssef Abdelgawad gave chase and fired twice at the group, mortally wounding Bryant as he and the others ran across an adjoining property, prosecutors say. 

Abdelgawad's attorney says the shooting was in self-defense. In a surveillance video of the attempted break-in shown on News 12, a man with a gun can be seen crouching next to the rear door of Abdelgawad's home before a confrontation ensues. A gunshot then appears to be fired, but prosecutors told News 12 that no bullets were recovered at the scene.  

Abdelgawad has a criminal history, according to the DA's office. He pleaded guilty in 2011 to unlawfully fleeing a police officer and was sentenced to 60 days in jail. In exchange for a guilty plea at the time, numerous other charges were dismissed, prosecutors said.