Man sentenced for unprovoked killing of ex-girlfriend’s uncle at L.I. party

A man convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend’s uncle at a Long Island backyard party in July 2021 has been sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, prosecutors said Thursday.

Paulin Cerisier, 29, of Pennsylvania, was accused of arriving at a party in Amityville in the early hours of July 18, 2021, then “covertly” approaching Maresse Dickerson‑Stevenson and shooting him in the left shoulder “without provocation,” according to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

The victim was pronounced dead a short time later, prosecutors said. Cerisier fled the scene and evaded capture for three years.

He was arrested at a hotel in Washington County, Pa., in July 2024 and was indicted the following month.

On June 11, 2025, a Suffolk County jury found Cerisier guilty of one count of second-degree murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, charges stemming from what District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney described as “a cold-blooded, unprovoked attack on an innocent man at a backyard party.”

On Thursday, Cerisier was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision, officials said.

“While today’s sentence does not bring back Maresse Dickerson‑Stevenson, it does ensure that there was justice for the victim and his family,” Tierney said in a press release. “Far too often, lives are being lost or permanently altered due to violence. I will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to pursue strong and fair prosecutions against those who endanger our communities.”

https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/08/14/amytiville-shooting-man-sentenced-ex-girlfriend-uncle/