A Port Jefferson Station couple pleaded guilty for their respective roles in the stabbing of another Port Jefferson Station resident on a walking trail.
On June 17, 2021, Jose Martinez-Vasquez followed Benjamin Flores-Mendez into the Port Jefferson Station entrance of the Setauket-Port Jefferson Station Greenway Trail. Martinez-Vazquez fatally stabbed Flores-Mendez, 39, multiple times while Diaz-Cabrera, Martinez-Vazquez’s girlfriend, served as his lookout. The victim was later discovered lying at the entrance of the trail by good Samaritans.
Suffolk County homicide detectives arrested Martinez-Vazquez and Diaz-Cabrera on March 5, 2023,
On April 22, 2024, Diaz-Cabrera, 21, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, a Class B violent felony, before Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen M. Wilutis. Diaz-Cabrera is due back in court for sentencing on August 29, 2024.
On July 25, 2024, Martinez-Vazquez pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, a Class A violent felony. Martinez-Vazquez is due back in court for sentencing on August 28, 2024.
“These defendants conspired to brutally take the life of Benjamin Flores-Mendez, and then did so in a place where Suffolk County residents should feel safe to walk, hike, or bike,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney. “Violence is never the answer, and we will not rest until anyone committing such wanton acts are brought to justice.”