A 39-year-old man convicted in two Hempstead stabbing attacks less than a month apart, including one that killed a 53-year-old man, was sentenced Monday to 45 years to life in prison, Nassau County prosecutors said.
Melbis Hernandez was convicted of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder and attempted first-degree assault, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly.
The attacks happened at an apartment building at 45 Jackson St. in Hempstead in September and October 2023.
Prosecutors said the first stabbing occurred at about 9:30 p.m. Sept. 28, 2023.
Hernandez waited in the rear parking lot for the 49-year-old stepfather of his girlfriend to return home from work, according to the district attorney’s office. Prosecutors said the victim had previously kicked Hernandez out of the apartment where he had been staying.
When the victim got out of his car, Hernandez approached and stabbed him once in the left side of his chest, prosecutors said.
The victim ran toward a nearby police car, causing Hernandez to stop chasing him, according to the district attorney’s office. The man was taken to NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island and treated for his injuries.
Three weeks later, prosecutors said Hernandez returned to the same apartment building.
At about 2:36 a.m. Oct. 21, 2023, Hernandez entered a stairwell and encountered 53-year-old Marlon Rivas Aguilar, according to prosecutors.
Hernandez stabbed Rivas Aguilar three times in the back, prosecutors said.
Rivas Aguilar was found about three hours later lying in the stairwell doorway and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Prosecutors said Hernandez left the building after the killing and discarded a kitchen knife in a nearby sewer. Police later recovered the weapon, and Rivas Aguilar’s DNA was found on the knife.
Investigators also recovered a Sprite can from a windowsill near Rivas Aguilar’s body that contained Hernandez’s DNA, according to the district attorney’s office.
Hernandez was arrested by Nassau County police detectives on Nov. 5, 2023.
“In less than a month, this defendant committed two horrific stabbings,” Donnelly said, describing the first attack as an act of revenge and the killing of Rivas Aguilar as a random act of violence.
Hernandez was sentenced Aug. 17 to 45 years to life in prison.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Homicide Bureau Chief Ania Pulaski under the supervision of Bureau Chief Michelle Lewisohn and Executive Assistant District Attorney Daryl Levy. Hernandez was represented by attorney Gregory Madey.
