2 Sentenced In 'Brutal Attack' On Long Island Greenway: DA

RIVERSIDE, NY — A former Port Jefferson Station couple were sentenced up to life imprisonment recently for their roles in the fatal stabbing of a man along a greenway trail back in 2021, Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Jose Martinez-Vazquez, 25, was sentenced 20 to life for second-degree murder, and Tiffany Diaz-Cabrera, 21, 15 years to life for first-degree manslaughter, according to Tierney's office.

On June 17, 2021, Martinez-Vasquez and Diaz-Cabrera followed Benjamin Flores-Mendez into the Port Jefferson Station entrance of the Setauket-Port Jefferson Station Greenway Trail, and he was fatally stabbed multiple times by Martinez-Vazquez while his girlfriend, Diaz-Cabrera, served as his lookout, prosecutors said.

The victim was later discovered lying at the entrance of the trail by good Samaritans, according to prosecutors.

The duo were arrested March 5 by Suffolk police homicide detectives.

Tierney said that the "lengthy prison terms handed down" shows "the severity of their actions and our commitment to public safety.”

“This brutal attack on our greenway trail – a place meant for recreation and community gathering – shook our citizens to the core," he said. "With these sentences, we hope to restore a sense of security to our public spaces and deter future acts of violence.”

Martinez-Vazquez's attorney, John Halverson of Patchogue, said previously received his sentence and accepted what he did.

"He did not want to put the victim's family through any further grief," he said.

Patch has reached out to Cabrera-Diaz's attorney, Luigi Belcastro of Central Islip.