Man Sentenced To 20 Years After Fatal Suffolk Stabbing: DA

COPIAGUE, NY — A man was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday after a fatal stabbing outside a Long Island deli in 2023, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

According to Tierney, Gherson Lopez, 29, a Salvadorian national, was sentenced after pleading guiltyto first-degree manslaughter; he fatally stabbed 34-year-old Jose Argueta-Canales outside of a Copiague deli in May, 2023.

According to the investigation, on May 15, 2023, Lopez and Argueta-Canales were smoking outside of the deli when they got in a verbal altercation.

The altercation turned physical, but the fight ended when Lopez complained that he hurt his hand during the scuffle, the DA said. Lopez and Argueta-Canales then shook hands, and Argueta-Canales sat down on a bench near the deli and began eating, the DA said.

The two men exchanged words again and, when Agueta-Canales was seated on the bench, Lopez

stood over the man and stabbed him in the chest twice, causing his death, Tierney said..

On June 11, Lopez pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, a Class B violent felony, before Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro, the DA said. On Friday, Lopez was sentenced to 20 years in prison, followed by 5 years post-release supervision, the DA said.

He was represented by Christopher Gioe, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"This defendant chose to take the life of a man with whom he had just shaken hands," Tierney said. "The brutal stabbing that followed an already seemingly resolved altercation demonstrated a callous disregard for human life. As this 20-year prison sentence shows, deliberate violent acts of this nature will not be tolerated in Suffolk County."