(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Gherson Lopez, 29, a Salvadorian national, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree for fatally stabbing 34-year-old Jose Argueta-Canales outside of a Copiague deli in May 2023.
“This defendant chose to take the life of a man with whom he had just shaken hands. The brutal stabbing that followed an already seemingly resolved altercation demonstrated a callous disregard for human life,” said District Attorney Tierney. “As this 20-year prison sentence shows, deliberate violent acts of this nature will not be tolerated in Suffolk County.”
According to the investigation, on May 15, 2023, Lopez and the victim were smoking outside of a Copiague 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. Lopez and the victim allegedly then shook hands, and the victim sat down on a bench near the deli and began eating. The two men exchanged words again as the victim was seated on the bench, when the defendant stood over the victim and stabbed him in the chest twice, causing his death.
On June 11, 2025, Lopez pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony, before Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro.
On September 26, 2025, Lopez was sentenced to 20 years in prison, followed by 5 years post-release supervision. He was represented by Christopher Gioe, Esq.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Elena Tomaro of the Homicide Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Detective Kenneth Buckheit of the Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad.