A man convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend’s uncle at a Long Island backyard party in July 2021 has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison , prosecutors said Thursday.

Paulin Cerisier, 29, of Pennsylvania, was accused of arriving at a party in Amityville in the early hours of July 18, 2021, then “covertly” approaching Maresse Dickerson‑Stevenson and shooting him in the left shoulder “without provocation, ” according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

The victim was pronounced dead a short time later, prosecutors said. Cerisier fled the scene and evaded capture for three years.

He was arrested at a hotel in Washington County, Pa., in July 2024 and was indicted the following month.

On June 11, 2025, a Suffolk County jury found Cerisier guilty of one count o

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