Illegal Immigrants Kidnapped Victim in Broad Daylight
Three Guatemalan nationals who were in the country illegally were each sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree, for their participation in the abduction and death of another man.
On the evening of June 21, 2024, Juan Carlos Diaz Jeronimo, 48, was walking on Broadhollow Road in Farmingdale when he was spotted by Gustavo Hernandez and his two nephews, Walter Ramirez Jeronimo, 21, and Wilson Ramirez Jeronimo, all of whom were in a Blue Isuzu Rodeo.
(The victim was not related to the defendants.)
Video surveillance showed the defendants exiting the vehicle, attacking the victim, and attempting to drag him toward the car. Their efforts were thwarted by a passing motorist, allowing the victim to escape to a gas station across the street.
The defendants then followed the victim to the gas station. Video surveillance from the gas station showed the Jeronimo brothers covering their faces and then, along with their uncle, beating the victim, knocking him to the ground, choking him, and violently forcing him into the trunk of the car.
After forcing the victim into the trunk of the SUV, the defendants drove to Belmont Lake State Park and then back to Farmingdale, where surveillance video captured them dumping the victim’s body on a residential street.
The Suffolk County Medical Examiner determined that the victim suffered numerous injuries, including, but not limited to, asphyxia due to neck compression, severe blunt force trauma of the abdomen, and what appeared to be a stab wound to his upper chest.
On December 18, 2025, Walter Ramirez Jeronimo, 21, pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree, a Class B felony, before Acting Supreme Court Justice Karen M. Wilutis. On February 27, 2026, Walter Ramirez Jeronimo was sentenced to 25 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.
On February 19, 2026, Wilson Ramirez Jeronimo, 19, pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree, a Class B felony, before Wilutis. On March 19, 2026, Wilson Ramirez Jeronimo was sentenced to 25 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.
On February 27, 2026, Hernandez, 40, pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree, a Class B felony, before Wilutis. On March 27, 2026, Hernandez was sentenced to 25 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.
The defendants are all illegally in the United States from Guatemala. Hernandez was previously removed from the United States in 2006 and deported to Guatemala after an assault on a law enforcement officer. Walter Ramirez Jeronimo was ordered by an immigration judge to be removed on June 15, 2023, and Wilson Ramirez Jeronimo was ordered by an immigration judge to be removed on February 13, 2025.
“These defendants stalked, kidnapped, brutalized and discarded a human being as if his life meant nothing,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “These sentences make clear that our office will pursue justice for all victims with the full force of the law.”