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A Ridge man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of his former girlfriend, Rebecca Roth, who was found dead inside her vehicle at a Moriches apartment complex last summer.
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney announced that James Quininchetta, 41, pleaded guilty on Jan. 29 to one count of second-degree murder, along with two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
He is expected to receive a sentence of 23 years to life in prison, Tierney said.
Court documents and statements made by Quininchetta during his guilty plea indicate that the shooting occurred shortly after midnight on June 6, when he went to Roth’s apartment complex in Moriches to collect money he believed she owed him.
Prosecutors said Quininchetta fired seven rounds from a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun into Roth’s parked vehicle before fleeing the scene.
An autopsy later determined that Roth, 33, of Moriches, suffered multiple gunshot wounds to her torso.
Police recovered the handgun from a nearby parking lot after responding to the scene, along with spent shell casings and ammunition packaging, authorities said. Additionally, a K-9 unit also located a fanny pack containing ammunition in a wooded area near the complex, according to authorities.
Quininchetta was arrested the following day, June 7.
“This defendant chose to respond to a perceived financial dispute with irreversible brutality, and now he will be held accountable for his crime,” Tierney said. “Our thoughts remain with Rebecca Roth’s loved ones who continue to live with the pain of her absence every day.”
Quininchetta entered his guilty plea before Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Timothy Mazzei. He is scheduled to return to court for sentencing on March 11.
Top: mugshot of James Quininchetta (SCDA).
