The Step.– A man accused of killing another man during a fight in an east-end neighborhood in 2021 has been sentenced to 2 years and six months in prison.
On Aug. 20, after a trial that lasted more than a week, an El Paso jury convicted Ramirez of manslaughter under the influence of “sudden passion,” according to court records.
Judge Alyssa Perez officially sentenced Ramirez on Monday, August 26, in the 210th District Court at the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse in downtown El Paso.
Ramirez originally faced a murder charge, which carries a sentence of five to 99 years or life in prison. However, a jury determined that the killing was committed “under the influence of sudden passion,” reducing the sentencing range to between two and 20 years in prison.
Ramirez and his attorneys argued that he acted in self-defense when he shot Castro during an argument at their home. Castro was the ex-boyfriend of Ramirez’s girlfriend.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Rick Locke and Raooa King. El Paso District Attorney Bill Hicks discussed Ramirez’s sentencing at a news conference where a plea deal in an unrelated case was announced.
“Sometimes we get very good sentences,” Hicks said. “Sometimes we get sentences we don’t agree with. We recently had a murder case that resulted in a sentence of two and a half years. That was a case where, even though the minimum sentence in a murder case is five years, the jury in that case determined there was sudden passion. We don’t agree with that, but we respect the jury’s verdict. They are the jury and they have the power to make those decisions.”
“For three years, since April 25, 2021, I thought about what I was going to say to you, what you took from us, what you have done to us,” said Rosa Gardea, Castro’s mother, in her victim impact statement. “He was a loving son, a loving brother, a loving uncle and a loving father. A loving father whose life you took, taking him away from his children.”
**The facts**
Ramirez was accused of shooting and killing Juan Carlos Castro Jr. during an altercation on Paseo Alegre in April 2021. Police say Castro was shot in the middle of the street and was taken to a hospital where he died.
According to court documents, at the time of the incident, Ramirez and his girlfriend got into an argument, left their home and were confronted by a group of partygoers in the neighborhood. The partygoers had sticks and club-like weapons.
According to court documents, the individuals told Ramirez to leave his girlfriend alone. When he did not, the attendants confronted him and began fighting with him.
The girlfriend then called her son’s father and ex-boyfriend, Juan Carlos Castro Jr., the victim. He arrived shortly after and began fighting with Ramirez, according to court documents.
Ramirez was able to flee back to his home with his girlfriend. Ramirez then grabbed a gun and fired three or four shots from the front door of the home, according to court documents.
Another witness said Ramirez hit Castro with the butt of the gun while he was lying in the street, according to court documents.
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