Suffolk, DA: Third defendant sentenced to 18 years in prison for role in Riverhead murder and robbery

Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced that 23-year-old Dennis Jonathan Hernandez Abanao was sentenced today to 18 years in prison with five years of probation after being released for his role in the robbery and murder of 34-year-old Marco Grisales. from East Hampton.

“This defendant played a role in facilitating the violent and premeditated murder and robbery of a victim who at the time was under the impression that he was dating a woman to celebrate his birthday,” District Attorney Tierney said. “This verdict sends a message to anyone who would consider participating in such acts that this is unacceptable and we will hold all accomplices accountable for their bloody acts.”

On September 21, 2022, Hernandez Abanao pleaded guilty before Supreme Court Justice The Honorable Anthony S. Senft, Jr. to attempted murder in the second degree, Class B felony. Hernandez Abanao was represented by Ian Fitzgerald, Esq.

According to evidence presented in December 2022 during the trial of co-defendant Alicides López Cambara, on November 11, 2020, Hernández Abanao was involved in assisting López Cambara, Tiara Lemus, then 18 years old, and López Cambara’s girlfriend, as well as an undetained accomplice to kill Marco Grisales’ victim.

Lopez Cambara was with Lemus when Grisales called her. Grisales told Lemus that it was his birthday and he asked if he could see her that night. Lopez Cambara overheard their conversation and became jealous. As a result, he devised a plan to rob Grisales with the help of Lemus.

López Kambara and Lemus then planned for Lemus to lure Grisales out under the pretense of celebrating his birthday. Hernandez Abanao and a second unidentified man were recruited by López Cambara to help him rob Grisales.

Lemus made an appointment with Grisales at McDonald’s in Riverhead. After meeting Grisales, Lemus got into his pickup truck and drove with him to a nearby buffalo farm to “have some fun”. López Cambara, Hernandez Abanao and an unknown male were already at the farm, waiting for Grisales to rob. After Lemus and Grisales parked, López Cambara and an unidentified man dragged Grisales out of the car and bludgeoned him to death with a shotgun barrel.

On December 13, 2022, López Cambara was convicted after trial by jury before Supreme Court Justice The Honorable Anthony S. Senft, Jr. of second-degree murder and first-degree robbery. On January 23, 2023, he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison with five years of supervision after his release. Judge Senft, Jr. presided over the cases of all three defendants.

He also sentenced Lemus to eight years in prison plus three years of post-release supervision after she pleaded guilty to first-degree robbery for her role in the crime.

During his plea, Hernandez Abanao admitted that he and Lemus had stolen jewelry and other valuables from Grisales’ car. López Cambara tore the gold chain off Grisales’ neck, after which three men placed his lifeless body in the back of his own pickup truck.

López Cambara then drove Grisales’ pickup truck away from the scene with Grisales’ body in the back. He parked it nearby on Roanoke Avenue, partially blocking the roadway.

A passer-by saw a pickup truck blocking the road and called 911 to report a faulty vehicle. Riverhead Police Department officers found Grisales’ body in the back of a truck.

On December 9, 2020, Lemus and López Cambara were arrested and charged with the robbery and murder of Grisales. Abanao was arrested on May 22, 2021.

Lemus testified at López Cambara’s trial and gave a detailed description of his and Hernandez Abanao’s involvement in the robbery and murder. Her testimony was corroborated by CCTV footage from a McDonald’s and a nearby hospital showing Grisales’ pickup truck and López Kambara’s car as they drove to the murder scene, as well as footage from Lemus and López Kambara’s cell phones. phones. Evidence also included items found during the execution of a search warrant in the house shared by López Cambara and Lemus, including Grisales’ jewelry and the shotgun he was beaten with, which was adorned with a distinctive jeweled skull. Finally, the download of Lemus’ phone led to the restoration of WhatsApp conversations in which Lemus and the accused discussed their plan to lure Grisales to the scene of the murder.

The case was handled by Assistant District Attorneys Dena Risopoulos and James O’Rourke of the Serious Crimes Investigation Bureau.