Man Sentenced To 22 Years After Fatal Stabbing In Traffic Circle: DA

RIVERHEAD, NY — A Riverhead man was sentenced to 22 years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to fatally stabbing another man near the Riverhead traffic circle on a weekday afternoon in 2023, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

As established by the investigation and guilty plea allocution, on June 6, 2023, at about 3:00 p.m., Gelber Lopez Perez, 20, was in Grangebel Park in Riverhead, arguing with a friend, the DA said. When the victim, Tony Fernando Alvarado Ajcuc, 26, of Riverhead, arrived at the park, he asked Lopez Perez and his friend why they were arguing; Lopez Perez and the victim then got into a physical altercation, Tierney said.

After the altercation, the Ajcuc left the park on foot, crossed four lanes of traffic on Nugent Drive, and headed toward a nearby traffic circle, the DA said.

Lopez Perez ran after Ajcuc and knocked him to the ground; as he lay on the ground in a defensive posture, Lopez Perez then stabbed him with a knife, Tierney said. He then fled back toward the park, the DA said.

An eyewitness took a photograph of Lopez Perez as he ran from the scene, which was later provided to the police, the DA said.

The victim was transported to Peconic Bay Medical Center, where he was pronounced deceased, Tierney said.

Less than a half hour later, police found and arrested Lopez Perez near Court Street and Griffing Avenue, a short distance from where the homicide occurred, the DA said. Police also recovered the knife from Lopez Perez’s waistband, which still had blood stains on it, the DA said.

On June 27, 2024, Lopez Perez pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter before acting Supreme Court Justice Stephen L. Braslow, Tierney said.

On September 10, Judge Braslow sentenced Lopez Perez to 22 years in prison followed by
five years of post-release supervision; he was represented by Ian Fitzgerald, Tierney said.

'This defendant took a life in a brazen act of violence that occurred in full view of our community. Violence like this is unacceptable," said Tierney. “Our thoughts remain with the victim’s family, and we hope that this resolution brings them some measure of closure."