Heckstall
PEEKSKILL – Police in Peekskill are continuing to investigate two shootings that occurred on Wednesday. The first took place on the 1000 block of Main Street just before noon and resulted in a vehicle and building being struck. The second, which occurred on the 900 block of Main Street just before 8:30 p.m., resulted in a vehicle being struck. Police do not think the incidents were related.
Neither shooting resulted in anyone being wounded.
Investigators are looking for a person of interest in the first shooting and arrested Alonzo Heckstall, 19, who they said was responsible for the second shooting. Heckstall, a resident of Highland Avenue in Peekskill, was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment after detectives learned he fired one shot at an individual with whom he had a dispute. He was arrested just after midnight on Thursday morning when police spotted him in a vehicle and stopped him on Bank Street.
Heckstall was taken into custody without incident and sent to the Westchester County Jail in lieu of $100,000 cash bail or $250,000 bond.
Police Chief Eric Johansen praised the officers involved in the arrest of Heckstall for quickly identifying him as a suspect and placing him under arrest. He also praised members of the public who cooperated in both cases which allowed police to quickly identify the parties involved.
“This community will not tolerate this type of behavior and let me be clear; those who engage in violent crime will be identified, quickly arrested, and aggressively prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Johansen said. “If you commit these heinous acts of violence, expect to spend significant time in jail.”
Peekskill Police were assisted at the scene of the first shooting by a K-9 officer from the Westchester County Department of Public Safety.
