Sage Arias-Brown, of Lake Ronkonkoma, charged in stabbing death of his father

A Lake Ronkonkoma man was charged early Monday with murder in the stabbing death of his father, Suffolk police said.

In a news release, police said Sage Arias-Brown, 33, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of his father, Edward Brown, 69, of Mastic. Police said the older man called 911 from his Mastic Boulevard apartment at about 12:30 a.m. and said he had been stabbed.

Mastic Volunteer Ambulance Company responded and attempted "life-saving measures," but Brown was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Arias-Brown was arrested on nearby Hawthorne Street at 1:32 a.m., a police spokesperson said. The spokesperson said in an email,  "Information was gathered during the investigation that led to the arrest of Arias-Brown." 

In May, Arias-Brown was arrested by Suffolk police on charges of robbing a TD Bank in Lake Ronkonkoma, according to a law enforcement source. He pleaded not guilty and was scheduled to appear in First District Court Sept. 21 before Judge Edward Hennessey on that charge, online records show.

In an email, a police spokesperson wrote the motive for the killing was “under investigation."

The killing took place in a detached apartment of a cottage-style house, police said. The department set up a mobile command center across the street.

Neighbors, including young children on the cordoned-off section of the residential block, watched from the edge of their lawns as personnel from the Suffolk County Crime Laboratory remained on scene.

Two residents of the house described Brown as a kindhearted friend who was retired from a career as a trauma counselor. He celebrated his 69th birthday in July, they said.

A father of three grown sons, Brown lived in a detached unit with a Chihuahua that fellow resident Deborah Blackmon said was his emotional support dog.

Blackmon, who lived in a separate unit on the same property, choked back tears as she spoke of the trouble Brown had with his son and disputes the father and son had on the property in the past.

"He liked to help people," Blackmon said of Brown's work as a counselor. "He didn't do it to make a million dollars. He wanted to help."

Blackmon described the psychedelic shirt the elder Brown wore on his back and the smile he kept on his face. "He was kind of a hippie guy," Blackmon said.

Arias-Brown was scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday at First District Court in Central Islip. It was unclear if Arias-Brown had a lawyer.

Through June, Suffolk police reported 10 murder/manslaughter cases, according to their website. 

Check back for updates on this developing story.