Man pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of housemate last year, documents show

A Uniondale man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of a housemate whom authorities said he fatally stabbed last year before dumping the victim's body in garbage bags in front of a neighbor's home.

Court records show Oscar Rios-Perez, 39, who was facing a murder charge, admitted to the lesser felony during a Nassau County Court proceeding on Friday.

Rios-Perez's attorney, William Shanahan, told Newsday that Acting State Supreme Court Justice Terence Murphy said he would sentence the defendant to 25 years in prison under the plea deal.

"It was a fair and equitable plea given the circumstances of the case," the Mineola defense attorney added Monday.

Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a statement Monday that prosecutors were "grateful for Judge Murphy's commitment to sentencing Rios-Perez to 25 years in prison for this appalling crime."

Police have said Rios-Perez killed Jesus Martinez, 27, during a drunken argument before leaving Martinez's remains in front of a home near the Walton Avenue residence he shared with the victim.

Donnelly's statement Monday also said the defendant "brutally stabbed" the victim multiple times "and stuffed his body into garbage bags that he then callously discarded on the curb like trash."

The victim's body was discovered on the morning of Jan. 30, according to police. A female neighbor told Newsday after Rios-Perez's arrest that she had seen a bag outside that morning, but had assumed it had garbage in it.

Police have said authorities arrested the defendant in Austin, Texas, while he was boarding a bus that was heading to Mexico. Court records show his arrest happened about three weeks after the discovery of Martinez's body.

Police said fingerprinting revealed that Rios-Perez, who is from El Salvador, was wanted for felony assault in Hempstead under a different name. The head of the Nassau County Police Department's homicide squad also said Rios-Perez was convicted of assault about a decade ago and deported after his release from prison.

Rios-Perez tried to re-enter the United States in 2019, but was denied because of his felony conviction, according to police. But Rios-Perez returned to Uniondale anyway and adopted a new name , the homicide commander also said previously.

The judge scheduled Rios-Perez's sentencing for Oct. 21.