Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney today announced that Gherson Lopez, 29, of Copiague, was indicted for fatally stabbing 34-year-old Jose Argueta-Canales outside of a Copiague deli earlier this month.
“This defendant cowardly shook hands with the victim, assuring him that they were still friends, before allegedly fatally stabbing him,” said District Attorney Tierney. “Violence like this will not be tolerated in Suffolk County. We will do everything we can to seek justice for Jose Argueta-Canales and his family.”
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 continued to have words and the defendant then stood over the victim and allegedly stabbed him in the chest twice with a silver knife, causing his death.
On June 2, 2023, Lopez was arraigned on the indictment before Supreme Court Justice, the Honorable Richard Ambro, for the charge of Murder in the Second Degree, a Class A felony, and ordered Lopez to be held without bail during the pendency of the case. Lopez is due back in court on June 30, 2023 and is being represented by Christopher Gieo, Esq.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Elena Tomaro of the Homicide Bureau, with investigative assistance from the Suffolk County Police Department’s Homicide Squad.
Criminal complaints and indictments are merely accusatory instruments. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. No one is above the law.