A Ridge man was sentenced to 23 years to life in prison after pleading guilty in January to fatally shooting his former girlfriend over a perceived financial debt.
On June 6, 2025, at approximately 12:30 a.m., James Quininchetta went to Rebecca Roth’s apartment complex in Moriches to attempt to collect money from the victim. Quininchetta fired a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun seven times at Roth while she was inside her parked vehicle, before he fled the scene. A forensic examination revealed Roth, 33, had sustained multiple gunshot wounds to her torso, resulting in her death.
Members of the Suffolk County Police Department recovered the handgun in a nearby parking lot, as well as ammunition packaging and spent shell casings. A K-9 unit also located a fanny pack containing ammunition in a wooded area. Quininchetta was arrested the next day, June 7, 2025.
On January 29, 2026, Quininchetta, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of Murder in the Second Degree, a Class A felony, and two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, both Class C felonies, before Supreme Court Justice Timothy P. Mazzei. On March 11, 2026, Quininchetta was sentenced to 23 years to life in prison.
“This defendant made a calculated decision to take another person’s life in a horrific act of violence,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “This sentence will not bring back Ms. Roth, but hopefully it will give her family some small comfort.”