Three people charged in strangulation death of North Amityville man

A North Amityville man was ambushed, killed and left on the side of the road in East Farmingdale last month, Suffolk prosecutors said in court Monday after charging three people with first-degree murder in connection with his death.

Co-defendants Gustavo Hernandez, 38, Walter Ramirez-Jeronimo, 19, and Wilson Ramirez-Jeronimo, 18, who live at the same address in Farmingdale, were all charged with second-degree murder when they appeared in court before Judge Evan Zuckerman in Central Islip. Suffolk police said the three men were arrested Sunday evening.

Suffolk Deputy District Attorney Sheetal Shetty told the court that the three men – whose attempt to kidnap him failed – allegedly beat their roommate, 48-year-old Juan Carlos Diaz Geronimo, “in broad daylight.”

At a local BP gas station, Shetty said they allegedly slammed his head into the concrete and choked him as customers watched in horror. They then threw the victim into the trunk of a 2004 Suzuki and eventually dumped his body on the side of the road, prosecutors said in court.

“The evidence is against them,” Shetty said, pointing to cellphone records and interior and exterior shots of the gas station that allegedly show the faces and clothing of the perpetrators. “I cannot stress enough the violence of this crime,” he said.

The two younger men are brothers and Hernandez is their uncle, officials said. However, prosecutors said they had no familial relationship to the victim. A motive for the attack was not disclosed.

Diaz Geronimo’s body was found the next morning next to Garity Place, which straddles the Nassau-Suffolk border. An autopsy later revealed numerous injuries, including severe bruising, stab wounds and chest aneurysms, prosecutors said.

The patch of grass where Diaz Geronimo was found between a New York swamp and a car wash showed no previous signs of a struggle, according to Newsday. Neighbors described the area as a magnet for nighttime activity, especially on weekends.

Although Shetty said the brothers confessed to the crime in a recorded interrogation with police after their arrest, Hernandez, Walter and Wilson pleaded not guilty at their arraignment before being remanded in custody.

If convicted, all three face 25 years to life imprisonment.