(SUFFOLK COUNTY, N.Y.) – Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Brayan Heredia Escobar, 20, of Guatemala, Jhon Lopez Campos, 19, of El Salvador, and Julio Beltran, 40, of El Salvador, were each sentenced to between 20 and 25 years in prison after each pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree, for beating, strangling, and stabbing 39-year-old Candido Guadalupe Saravia Martinez to death.
“While nothing can undo this senseless loss of life, we hope these sentences bring some measure of justice for a man whose circumstances made him vulnerable, but whose life nonetheless had worth and dignity,” said District Attorney Tierney. “Any form of violence will not be tolerated in Suffolk County.”
According to court documents and the defendants’ admissions during their guilty plea allocutions, on February 18, 2025, Suffolk County Police discovered the victim’s body in a tent near Suffolk Avenue in Central Islip. Inside the tent, law enforcement also found a machete and a knife covered in blood. Video surveillance depicted the three defendants running from the tent after the incident. The Suffolk County Medical Examiner determined that the victim died of a combination of blunt force trauma, strangulation, and a stab wound to the neck.
Lopez Campo and Beltran admitted to holding the victim down while Lopez Campo repeatedly struck the victim’s body with the handle of the machete. Lopez Campo also admitted that he handed a knife to Heredia Escobar and directed him to stab the victim.
On January 14, 2026, Beltran pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony, before Justice Collins. On February 26, 2026, Beltran was sentenced to 21 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision. He was represented by Katherine Fernandez, Esq.
On January 8, 2026, Heredia Escobar pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony before Justice Collins. On February 27, 2026, Heredia Escobar was sentenced to 20 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision. He was represented by Peter Mayer, Esq.
On January 7, 2026, Lopez Campo pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony, before Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins. On March 27, 2026, Lopez Campo was sentenced to 25 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision. He was represented by Christopher Gioe, Esq.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Michelle Chiuchiolo of the Homicide Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Detective Matthew Sagistano of the Suffolk County Police Department’s Homicide Squad.
