2 sentenced in Huntington Station murder

Two young men from Huntington Station were sentenced to prison Friday for their roles in what the judge called one of the most senseless killings he'd ever seen.

Gni Brown, 20, and Lavell Leftenant, 17, had pleaded guilty to taking part in the January 2010 killing of Geremias Caceres, 39. Both testified against Ralph Guerrier, 26, helping prosecutors convict him of second-degree murder.

Justice Mark Cohen sentenced Leftenant to 3 to 9 years as a juvenile for second-degree attempted murder. Brown got 15 years to life, the minimum for second-degree murder.

In November, Cohen gave Guerrier the maximum of 25 years to life but said it wasn't enough for him.

"It is literally one of the most extreme and senseless crimes in my memory," Cohen said in court Friday.

It was the last time the close-knit and religious Caceres family and friends had to come to State Supreme Court in Riverhead and relive the day Guerrier shot Caceres in front of his son Dennis, then 17. The killing was on the street next door to their home.

Caceres' widow, Blanca, told Cohen that the effect of the murder has only worsened as time has passed. Her younger son Brandon, 8, cries in his bed many nights for his father, she said through a Spanish interpreter.

"Somehow, I don't know how, I would like to bring his father back, so he could say to him, 'Don't cry. Daddy's here,' " she said.

"He was my first boyfriend, my first love," she added. "It was my dream to grow old together, but it didn't happen that way."

After she spoke, Leftenant turned to the family and told them: "I'm sorry. I hope that you can forgive me."

In her remarks, Blanca Caceres expressed compassion for her husband's killers.

"I thank God that they still have their parents," she said, as Leftenant listened. "I want him to know that despite what he did, Christ still loves him."She sobbed at the lectern, before regaining her composure to say a last word about her husband.

"I know he's safe in God's arms, but it hurts a lot," she said. "I miss him."