A Salvadorian national was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the fatal stabbing of another man outside a Copiague deli two years ago.
On May 15, 2023, Gherson Lopez and the victim, 34-year-old Jose Argueta-Canales, were smoking outside 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 Argueta-Canales 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 Argueta-Canales was seated on the bench, when Lopez stood over the victim and stabbed him in the chest twice, causing his death.
On June 11, 2025, Lopez, 29, 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 five years post release supervision.
Long Island Life & Politics reached out to the district attorney’s office to determine if Lopez was in the country illegally when he committed the crime, but did not hear back as of press time.
“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 Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “As this 20-year prison sentence shows, deliberate violent acts of this nature will not be tolerated in Suffolk County.”