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“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,” DA Katz said.
By Forum Staff
A Bronx resident has been sentenced to up to life in prison for his participation in a botched South Richmond Hill home invasion in 2016 that resulted in the death of a 20-year-old man, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz recently announced.
Jose Pichardo, 27, was convicted last month of murder in the second degree and two counts of burglary in the first degree. Last week, Pichardo was sentenced to 18 years to life in prison on the murder charge and 10 years in prison on each burglary count, which will run concurrently, to be followed by five years’ post-release supervision.
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Pichardo and his co-defendants had been told by a woman that the occupant of the 110th Street home was a friend of her ex-boyfriend, and that they could find Xanax pills, marijuana and cash inside.
According to trial records, at approximately 2 a.m. on Nov. 30, 2016, Pichardo entered a home on 110th Street in South Richmond Hill 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 Mr. Ventura and stabbed him numerous times in the back and thigh. Mr. Ventura died as a result of the stab wounds.
Moses pleaded 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.
“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. Following the court’s sentence, the defendant will spend a lengthy term incarcerated for this brutal act of violence,” Katz said.
