Man killed in Huntington Station stabbing

Suffolk County police are investigating the fatal stabbing of a man in Huntington Station early Saturday.

Police received a 911 call about a man lying on the ground on West 13th Street west of New York Avenue at 4:42 a.m.

Juan Carlos Benitez-Garcia was taken to Huntington Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. He had suffered stab wounds during a fight with a group of men, police said.

Police were not immediately able to identify Benitez-Garcia, 31, of Huntington Station. Det. Lt. Gerard Pelkofsky said he wasn't carrying any identification.

Nearly half of violent crimes -- assaults, robberies and homicides -- in the Town of Huntington occur in Huntington Station, a fact that has prompted police to increase patrols in the area.

Pelkofsky said the stabbing did not appear to be gang-related.

But Lino Rivera, 33, and his companion, Zulma Martinez, 31, who live near the crime scene, are on edge.

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"We thought this was a safe place," said Rivera, a six-year resident. "Now I am scared to go out of the house."

Peggy Monitto, a neighborhood resident since 1978, also was taken aback.

"There are gang problems all around Huntington Station, but this is basically a quiet street," she said.

Anyone with information about the stabbing is asked to contact Homicide Squad detectives at 631-852-6392 or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 800-220-TIPS.