Monroe man indicted for murder, manslaughter

BY ERIKA NORTON
MONROE — A Monroe man has been indicted on murder and manslaughter charges in connection with the October death of a 25-year-old Monroe man.
Prosecutors say Samuel Del Cid Hernandez, 31, of Monroe, fatally stabbed Luis Garcia Rivera of Monroe in the hallway outside of Hernandez’s apartment on Lake Street.
An Orange County Grand Jury indicted Hernandez on Wednesday on four counts: second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, and tampering with physical evidence, felonies; and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a misdemeanor.
On Oct. 13, Village of Monroe Police responded at 3 a.m. to a report of a dead man with multiple stab wounds in an apartment building at 20 Lake St.
According to Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler, prosecutors allege that Hernandez and several other people, including Rivera, were drinking at Hernandez’s apartment that night. At some point words were exchanged between Hernandez and Rivera, and a physical altercation occurred between Rivera and a third party.
Rivera then left the apartment and went into the hallway outside. Prosecutors say Hernandez took a knife from the kitchen and followed Rivera into the hallway, where he allegedly stabbed him multiple times, ultimately killing him. Hernandez then allegedly later discarded the knife.
Hernandez, who has been in the Orange County Jail without bail since his arrest, is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment in January in Orange County Court.
“Weapons and alcohol are never a good combination,” said Hoovler in a statement. “Unfortunately, it’s all too often that we hear of tragedies when people drink to excess, arm themselves, and injure or kill their friends during arguments. This case represents another of those tragedies, and my office will strive to bring justice to the victim and his family through an appropriate sentence to the man who killed him.”
Second-degree murder carries a penalty ranging from 15 years to life in prison.
State Police are working jointly with the Village of Monroe Police and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney David Byrne.