A New Year’s morning gathering in New Cassel turned fatal when 40-year-old Joseph Fountain was shot along Railroad Avenue near Siegel Street at about 2:05 a.m. on January 1, 2026. Officers from the Nassau County Police Department found Fountain with gunshot wounds; he was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead.

The case was immediately handled by the Nassau County Police Department’s Homicide Squad. On January 4, 2026, police arrested 34-year-old Stephen Primm of Bay Shore and charged him with Murder and Criminal Possession of a Weapon; he was scheduled for arraignment that day in First District Court in Hempstead. Detectives continued to seek witnesses and asked anyone with information to contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers.

If anyone saw activity on Railroad Avenue near Siegel Street that night or has information about Fountain’s movements before the shooting, please come forward.