The Long Island man charged with putting his mom in a headlock and drowning her in the family pool this week had previously went after her in a bar in front of other patrons, witnesses told The Post Friday.
Both times, the mother and son were arguing over his refusal to take medications, according to witnesses and officials.
Two months ago, Denis Cullen Jr., 23, was out to lunch with his mother, Elizabeth, at a bar near their home in Cold Spring Harbor when he flipped out.
“He got into her face, like inches apart and was furious,” said witness Matt Meskill. “He was really aggressive. The kid really freaked me out.”
Server Anthony Chapa said Elizabeth, 63, was “very sweet, very patient with him.’’ Another staffer said the young man would show up alone at least once a week for booze.
“I served him a bunch of times,” said bartender James Frederick. “He would slam cocktails. He liked the specialty cocktails or whiskey.”
Cullen — the grandson of the highest-ranking Army officer killed in Vietnam and the nephew of a former Army chief of staff — pleaded not guilty and is being held on $5 million bail.
He told cops he was “surprised a woman of her stature could struggle as much as she did,” according to the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office.