A Bronx man was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison on murder and other crimes for his participation in a botched home invasion that resulted in the death of a 20-year-old man. The victim was stabbed to death when the defendant and others broke into a South Richmond, Queens home in November 2016.
“The victim in this case was in the wrong place at the wrong time, just playing video games at a friend’s house, when he was fatally attacked,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. “Following the Court’s sentence, the defendant will spend a lengthy term incarcerated for this brutal act of violence.”
Pichardo, 27, of Creston Avenue in the Bronx, was convicted earlier this month of murder in the second degree and two counts of burglary.
According to the investigation, at 2 a.m. on Nov. 30, 2016, Pichardo entered a home on 110th Street in South Richmond Hill, Queens with three others. The defendants had been told by a fifth co-defendant that the occupant of the home was a friend of her ex-boyfriend and that they could find Xanax pills, marijuana and cash inside.
The defendants found Eddie Ventura, 20, in a bedroom playing video games with two others. Pichardo’s co-defendant Khalil Moses, who was armed with a knife, fought with Ventura and stabbed him numerous times in the back and thigh. Ventura died as a result of the stab wounds.
Defendant Moses plead guilty to manslaughter in the first degree and was sentenced to 21 years in prison in September 2020. Pichardo’s brother John Pichardo pleaded guilty to burglary in the first degree and was sentenced in July 2020 to 15 years in prison. The cases against the fourth and fifth defendants are pending.
