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Gelber Lopez Perez, of Riverhead, was arraigned on a second-degree murder charge in Suffolk County Court on Thursday, June 15, in the death of 26-year-old Tony Fernando Alvarado Ajcuc.
According to the Suffolk County DA’s office, it was around 3 p.m. Tuesday, June 6, when Lopez Perez got into an argument with one of two friends he was with at Riverhead’s Grangabel Park.
During their argument, Ajcuc walked up to the group and asked why they were fighting, leading to a physical altercation between him and Lopez Perez.
Afterward, as Ajcuc was leaving and crossing nearby Nugent Drive, witnesses watched as Lopez Perez chased after him into a traffic circle.
There, prosecutors allege that Lopez Perez punched Ajcuc in the head and neck, knocking him to the ground. He allegedly then stabbed Ajcuc with a knife as the victim laid in a defensive posture.
Ajcuc was taken to Peconic Bay Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Lopez Perez reportedly fled the scene when he learned that police were on their way. Officers found him nearby roughly a half hour later after a witness provided them with a photo.
Police also found a knife in his waistband with what appeared to be blood stains on it, prosecutors said.
“The alleged actions of this defendant showed a callous disregard for a human life,” Suffolk County DA Raymond Tierney said in a statement.
“This fatal stabbing happened in the middle of a busy day just a stone’s throw from the Riverhead courthouse. This alleged crime is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in Suffolk County.”
At his arraignment Thursday, a Suffolk County judge ordered Lopez Perez held without bail as his case moves forward.
He is due back in court on Monday, July 31. If convicted, he faces 25 years to life in prison.
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