Daniel Escobar, of Bay Shore, allegedly stabbed man in neck in Amityville church basement, police say

A man is in serious condition after he was stabbed in the neck at an Amityville church on Friday night, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.

The stabbing happened at the First United Methodist Church around 8:30 p.m. Bay Shore resident Daniel Escobar, 33, stabbed a 65-year-old man during a meeting in the church's basement, police said in a statement.

Escobar took off after the stabbing but police found him about two hours later on Ackerson Boulevard in Bay Shore, where he was arrested and charged with first-degree assault, the police statement said.

The victim was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, police said.

An agency spokesman could not immediately provide information about the nature of the meeting or what may have prompted the stabbing.

Escobar's attorney, Danielle Papa, told Newsday she believed it was a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. She plans "on meeting with Mr. Escobar during the week to discuss the facts and circumstances that led up to this particular incident," she said on Saturday afternoon.

First United Methodist Church representatives did not immediately respond to Newsday’s request for comment.

Escobar was arraigned before Judge Mary Catherine Mullen in Central Islip’s First District Court on Saturday. He pleaded not guilty and bail was set at $150,000 cash, $300,000 insured bond or $500,000 partially secured surety bond, according to online court records.

"Every person deserves the presumption of innocence," Papa said.

By Sam Kmack

sam.kmack@newsday.com

Sam Kmack covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and previously worked as a city watchdog reporter in the Phoenix metro area, as well as an investigative journalist at the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.