Cops: Bellerose man charged in fatal stabbing over theft of SUV car rims

A Bellerose man — apparently enraged after his SUV's catalytic converter was stolen two months earlier — stabbed to death one of three men fleeing after attempting to steal wheel rims and tires from the vehicle two weeks ago, Nassau County police said Friday. 

The suspect, Jacob Alvarenga Mejia, 28, was angered after the theft of the catalytic converter from his 2023 Toyota Highlander, Det. Capt. Stephen Fitzpatrick, commanding officer of the Nassau County Police Homicide Squad, said during a news conference in Mineola. He "took matters too far" during the attempted theft earlier this month, police said.

The victim, Luis Pena, 22, of the Bronx, was attacked from behind as he attempted to enter a vehicle and leave the scene, sustaining stab wounds to his liver and torso, prosecutors said.

"There is no indication of the three subjects stealing the rims being aggressors physically toward Mr. Mejia," Fitzpatrick said. "Mr. Mejia was, in fact, the aggressor because of his anger for the previous incident of the catalytic converter. And now he's getting his ... rims and tires stolen. You can understand his anger. But he can't take it to that level of physicality with a weapon."

Mejia was arraigned in Nassau County District Court in Hempstead Friday, where he pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree manslaughter and first-degree assault.

District Court Judge Geoffrey Prime held Mejia on $500,000 cash bail or $1 million bond. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of the charges.

James McGlynn, Mejia's Bethpage-based defense attorney, declined to discuss the allegations against his client or whether he was defending his property, but said the incident occurred differently than was described by police and prosecutors.

"I will have an investigator look at what the people are alleging," McGlynn told reporters after the arraignment, adding that his client has never been previously arrested. "I think the scenario is a bit different from what was described. And we'll take it from there."

Mejia ignored reporters' questions as he was taken from Nassau police headquarters in Mineola Friday morning. 

Family and friends of both the suspect and the victim also declined to speak with reporters following the arraignment.

Authorities said Mejia was inside his apartment on Jericho Turnpike at 1:30 a.m. on May 13 when he saw three men outside trying to steal the wheels and rims from his SUV. 

Mejia came out to confront the men, armed with a kitchen knife with a 7- to 8-inch blade, police said. The three men attempted to flee in their vehicle, but Mejia grabbed Pena from behind and stabbed him multiple times in the back, authorities said.

"There was no struggle. There was no fight," said Assistant District Attorney Stefanie Palma. "The defendant attacked the victim from behind."

The suspect, Palma said, made statements to police confessing to the stabbing.

The other two men, who police did not identify, took Pena to a Bronx hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Fitzpatrick said.

Only moments after the stabbing, Mejia's girlfriend called 911 to report the attempted tire theft and that shots were fired at the suspect from the fleeing vehicle, Fitzpatrick said. She did not inform police about the stabbing, Fitzpatrick said, adding that shell casings from a pellet gun or a low-caliber weapon were recovered at the scene.

Nassau police, working with the NYPD, arrested Mejia on Thursday.

"Mr. Mejia took matters into his own hands," Fitzpatrick said. "He was not surrounded. He was not acting in a defensive mode. He was an aggressor in this incident."

Criminal charges are expected against the two men who were with Pena, Fitzpatrick said. The men, he said, have turned themselves in to the NYPD, and Nassau police have been interviewing them with their attorney.

Mejia is due back in court on May 31.

Newsday previously reported that Long Island has been a hub of the thefts of catalytic converters, which have become a favorite target of thieves because of their street value and how relatively easy they are to steal, authorities said.

With John Asbury

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.