A Bear Hug Ended Badly

An East Hampton man is facing an assault charge after allegedly punching an acquaintance on the side of the head hard enough to send him to the hospital with bleeding on the brain.

The incident occurred at Little Albert’s Landing beach in Amagansett on July 2, where people had gathered to watch the fireworks display. According to Detective Sgt. Greg Schaeffer, alcohol appears to have been involved. 

Alexander Alvarado gave Timothy M. Egan, 33, such a “playful bear hug,” the detective said, that Mr. Egan’s sunglasses fell to the ground and broke. Enraged, Mr. Egan “cold-cocked him,” knocking Mr. Alvarado out. He was taken to Southampton Hospital, then to Stony Brook University Hospital on July 3 early in the morning, “due to the fact that he had incurred bleeding on the brain,” his mother-in-law wrote on a GoFundMe page set up for the Alvarado family. Though he has since been discharged, he has been unable to return to work at his automobile repair company, Alvarado Mechanical, on Three Mile Harbor Road in East Hampton. 

Mr. Egan was arrested last Thursday morning and arraigned before East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana. His lawyer, Trevor Darrell, told the court that Mr. Egan, who has family in East Hampton, was here for the summer but lives year round in Merritt, N.C. 

Justice Rana, reading from the record, noted that Mr. Egan has one felony conviction and four for misdemeanors. Bail was set at $2,500, which was posted.