30°
Brian Cordovano, age 50, of Ronkonkoma, was sentenced to 30 years in prison in Suffolk County Court on Wednesday, Nov. 20, after pleading guilty in the deaths of Ian Saalfield and Robert Julian.
Suffolk County Police found the 45-year-old Saalfield, of Lake Grove, and the 59-year-old Julian shot to death inside Julian’s Selden home on May 3, 2022.
An investigation found that Cordovano had shot the victims in the head two weeks earlier, on April 25. Detectives made the connection after responding to a call from a Ronkonkoma motel where Cordovano was suffering from an overdose.
While he was being transported to Stony Brook University Hospital, police linked a Toyota Corolla left in the parking lot to Cordovano. The vehicle was registered to Julian, which prompted officers to search his Selden home where both victims were found.
Saalfield’s wife told detectives that she last saw her husband on April 25, when he left home with Cordovano, his childhood friend.
On Wednesday, Oct. 9, Cordovano pleaded guilty to the following counts:
- Two counts of first-degree manslaughter (felony)
- Three counts of robbery in the first degree (felony)
- Two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree (felony)
“Any justice obtained in this case does not allow Mr. Saalfield and Mr. Julian to see their families again, nor allow their families to say goodbye,” said Suffolk County DA Raymond Tierney.
“Justice does, however, allow us to keep a violent individual like this defendant from harming others for a long time. Today, we hope that this sentence brings some form of closure to the victims’ families and loved ones.”
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