Alejandro Vargas-Diaz faces up to 23 years of life in prison after pleading guilty to murder and second-degree unauthorized ownership of a firearm. Vargas-Diaz fatally murdered the man in the back, neck, and shoulder before fleeing New York State.
Alejandro Vargas-Diaz left inset and Albert Luis Rodriguez-Lopez. (Photo: Vargas-Diaz mugshot from Suffolk County District Attorney, Rodriguez-Lopez photo and pool hall screenshots from Eyewitness News ABC7NY)
Justice has been served after five years
Mr. Rodriguez-Lopez’s relatives and loved ones have been waiting for justice for this awful killing for five years. While the defendant may have extended his freedom by hiding away in another state, it was only a matter of time before the law caught up with him, and now he is being held responsible for his acts.
Vargas will face second-degree murder and other charges after police discovered the murder weapon — a 9 mm pistol — secreted in a tree on the Setauket Port Jefferson Greenway Trail and a murder warrant was issued for his arrest in August.
Second-Degree Murder Charges to the Suspect
Vargas-Diaz was caught nearly three years after the murder by the U.S. The Florida Marshal’s Task Force is looking into a tip to crime stoppers. Local authorities charged him with hiding a handgun and possessing a forged identification card.
According to the victim’s brother, Jason Rodrigues, in a published article by Law and Crime, “No one deserves to lose their life over a petty argument.”
