Martin Carpio, of North Bellmore, sentenced to 10 years in prison for stabbing man during St. Patrick's Day event

A North Bellmore man should spend the next 10 years behind bars, a judge ruled at his sentencing on Friday, for stabbing a man three times in the chest during a late-night brawl at a St. Patrick's Day event last year.

A jury convicted Martin Carpio, 36, in June of assault and weapons possession charges for the attack, but cleared him of attempted murder and two counts of attempted assault.

Nassau Supreme Court Justice Robert Schwartz sentenced him to 10 years, half of what prosecutors suggested.

Prosecutors charge that Carpio, whose blood alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit to drive, spent March 4, 2023, on Main Street in Farmingdale celebrating the "LepreCon" pub crawl with friends several days before the holiday.

His group then went to a Dominican restaurant, also on Main Street, for some food where prosecutors say he set his eyes on a 15-year-old girl who was there with her parents and friends.

The Nassau District Attorney’s Office said that the fight started after Carpio grabbed the girl’s arm and made advances on her.

When the teen’s father intervened, Carpio, a union elevator electrician, punched him in the throat, sparking a larger fight between the two groups.

During the melee, the girl’s family and friends hit Carpio, knocking him to the ground.

When he got back up he punched the 21-year-old victim and then pulled a folding knife with a three-inch blade, prosecutors say.

As the victim backed away, Carpio, a married father of two, stabbed him in the upper left rib cage, according to the district attorney.

"I just stabbed you, [expletive]," he told the victim afterward.

Carpio’s lawyer, James E. Toner, of Garden City, admitted that his client had too much to drink that day, but said his client was defending himself and denied that Carpio made advances on the teen.

"My client never flirted with this girl. I think the sentence was heartless," he said. "I think the punishment is too much time for the facts of the case."

The defense lawyer said the case should have been tried in another county because the victim’s mother works as a court officer in Nassau County. Toner added that Schwartz should have recused himself because the court officer occasionally provides security for the judge’s courtroom.

"The victim’s mother is known to the judge," Toner said. "He should have recused himself in this matter. I’m not accusing him of doing anything improper, but this case should have been removed from Nassau County."

Prosecutors said that the defense team never requested a change of venue or a different judge on the case.

Toner said he would appeal the verdict.

"Today’s lengthy prison sentence holds the defendant accountable for the suffering that he caused this victim and his loved ones," District Attorney Anne Donnelly said after the sentencing.