Jeremy Allen of East Quogue is charged with murdering a friend, Suffolk prosecutors say

An East Quogue man beat his friend for six hours before stabbing him. It was a murder filmed by his home surveillance system early Saturday morning, prosecutors said at his arraignment Sunday in Southampton Town Justice Court.

Jeremy Allen, 43, of Oakville Avenue, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and tampering with evidence in the death of Christopher Hahn, 43, of Hampton Bays. Allen was remanded to the Suffolk County Jail by Southampton City Judge Adam Grossman.

“He stabbed him in the head and neck with a large knife,” Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Elena Tomaro told the judge.

Police and prosecutors said Southampton Town police responded to Allen's home about 9:52 a.m. Saturday after receiving a call from a repairman who discovered Hahn's body under a tarp on the back patio. One of Allen's dogs had pulled on the tarp, revealing the alleged victim's feet.

Tomaro said Allen beat Hahn for several hours beginning at midnight before dragging his “defenseless and helpless body” to the patio and continuing to beat him with a baseball bat. He later came back with the knife, she said, and stabbed him in front of the camera.

“The video is brutal and disgusting to watch,” Tomaro said.

The prosecutor alleged that after Allen killed Hahn, he sent a text message to the repairman asking him to help clean up the mess. When the man arrived and saw the body, Allen told him he had to stay, Tomaro said.

“'Now you can't leave,'” Tomaro allegedly said Allen told the worker. “'Now you have to help clean up the house.' ”

The repairman left the home in the quiet Oakville Estates neighborhood south of Sunrise Highway, saying he needed to get bleach, Tomaro said. Instead he called the police.

Allen was taken to Southampton police headquarters, where he was questioned and arrested, defense attorney Colin Astarita of Hampton Bays told reporters.

Astarita said that although police and prosecutors described his client as a friend of Hahn's, he assumed the two were long-time acquaintances who had only recently reconnected. He said Hahn came to his client's house despite being told to stay away.

The two were drinking together at a bar Friday night after originally planning to attend a 12-step meeting together, Astarita said.

“They were both very drunk,” Astarita said. “At some point there was an argument that became increasingly violent.”

Astarita said it is his understanding that Hahn has “injected himself” into the life of Allen, who he believes may have a claim to self-defense.

“He was in his own house,” Astarita said, adding that he did not know why the altercation between the men occurred.

Allen, dressed in a Tyvek suit, shook as Tomaro read through the charges and discussed his extensive criminal history during the trial. His lips trembled and he appeared to be holding back tears as he saw his mother sitting in the front row of the courtroom.

Tomaro said Allen's most recent arrest for criminal gun purchasing came in May when he attempted to purchase a shotgun in Riverhead but was unable to do so due to prior criminal convictions.

“The [effort] was foiled by Dick’s Sporting Goods employees,” Tomaro said.

Allen also has a pending rape case in Southampton court involving a child under 15, Tomaro said. He has committed multiple DWI offenses since 2007 and is currently on probation for a drunken driving conviction in Ulster County in 2022, the prosecutor said. Prosecutors plan to present the murder case to a grand jury on Wednesday, lawyers said.

Allen's mother declined to speak to reporters as she left court Sunday.

After investigators searched the house where Allen lives alone on Saturday, everything returned to normal the next morning.

A neighbor declined to comment after observing the investigation the previous day.

Allen is due back in court on Friday, although attorneys said his appearance would likely be waived pending a grand jury indictment.