An East Moriches man has been arrested for allegedly shooting a 45-year-old man to death during an Eastport home invasion last month, Suffolk County police said.
Paul Batterson, Jr. was charged Saturday with second-degree murder in connection with the death of Francisco Pirir.
Police said the 22-year-old suspect and a second masked gunman who has yet to be apprehended broke into the victim’s house on East Moriches Boulevard, announced a robbery and fatally shot Pirir at 3:24 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 8.
A second man in the home was also shot. He was treated for a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the hand.
Batterson will be arraigned Sunday at First District Court in Central Islip.
Pirir is the fifth person to be gunned down this year during a home invasion on Long Island, a tally that includes a Medford man in August and a Flanders man in January. A Nassau County cop also shot a home invasion suspect and his hostage, a 21-year-old woman, near Hofstra University in May.
