Ex-St. John’s Lacrosse Captain Gets 6 Years For Stabbing Roommate

A former captain of the St. John’s University lacrosse team was sentenced to six years in prison for the 2019 stabbing and near-disembowelment of his roommate in a dispute over a loud party at their apartment, the district attorney announced.

Matthew Stockfeder was found guilty in March on first-degree assault and fourth-degree weapons charges. The 24-year-old initially faced up to 25 years in prison for the attack on the roommate, who also played lacrosse at St. John's, but the judge issued a sentence of six years plus five years of supervised release. The roommate survived the incident.

"An argument about a late-night party escalated to blows and then bloodshed when the defendant committed a senseless act of violence. A jury of his peers found the defendant guilty. The Court today has sentenced him to prison for his criminal behavior," Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.

According to trial testimony, Stockfeder stabbed Justin Corpolongo in the abdomen in October 2019, after Corpolongo had complained about a loud party in the Queens apartment as he was trying to sleep. Stockfeder and others at the party, which included other roommates who were also on the lacrosse team, agreed to go to another location, prosecutors said.

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But the two men exchanged angry text messages in a group chat, with Stockfeder calling Corpolongo a loser, court records showed. Corpolongo them went to the new party site, and the two squared off face-to-face. Stockfeder raised his arms as if he intended to hit Corpolongo, who countered by throwing a punch and sending Stockfeder to the ground.

Other students at the party grabbed Corpolongo, and Stockfeder took out a knife. He stabbed the victim twice, prosecutors said.

Corpolongo survived after undergoing life-saving surgery to repair a laceration to his small intestine, officials said.