Backyard Ambush: Man Who Murdered Ex's Uncle At Amityville Party Sentenced To Prison

By Michael Mashburn From Daily Voice

A Pennsylvania man will spend decades behind bars for an ambush-style killing at a backyard party on Long Island.

Paulin Cerisier, 29, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in Suffolk County Court on Thursday, Aug. 14, in the shooting death of Maresse Dickerson-Stevenson.

It followed his June conviction for second-degree murder and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

The shooting happened around 2:50 a.m. on July 18, 2021. Cerisier drove from Pennsylvania to Amityville, entered a backyard party, and approached 41-year-old Maresse Dickerson-Stevenson, his ex-girlfriend’s uncle.

Without provocation, he shot the victim in the left shoulder before fleeing, prosecutors said. Dickerson-Stevenson was pronounced dead a short time later.

After evading capture for three years, Cerisier was arrested in July 2024 at a hotel in Washington County, Pennsylvania, by Suffolk County Police homicide detectives.

Along with his prison sentence, Cerisier will serve five years of post-release supervision.

“While today’s sentence does not bring back Maresse Dickerson-Stevenson, it does ensure that there was justice for the victim and his family,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney.