Police lights

By Jillian Pikora From Daily Voice

A deadly stabbing during a late-night party has led to the arrest of two suspects,  police announced on Sunday, Dec. 14.

Detectives charged Gerson Mendoza-Rodriguez, 19, of Hicksville, and a 17-year-old Huntington Station teen in connection with the killing of Justin Alfaro-Avila, 29, who was fatally stabbed on Lowndes Avenue in Huntington Station, according to Suffolk County police.

Both suspects were charged with Manslaughter First Degree and Gang Assault First Degree following an investigation by Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad detectives, authorities said.

The stabbing happened during a party at 58½ Lowndes Avenue just after 2 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, when Second Precinct officers responded to a 911 call reporting a stabbing at the location, as Daily Voice previously reported. 

Officers found two men suffering from stab wounds when they arrived. Alfaro-Avila, of Huntington Station, was rushed to Huntington Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A 39-year-old man was also injured, treated at a local hospital, and released, police said.

Mendoza-Rodriguez is being held overnight at the Third Precinct and will be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip. The teenage suspect, who police said was 15 at the time of the stabbing, will be arraigned in the Youth Part of First District Court in Central Islip, according to the release.

The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-220-TIPS, police said.