A Bronx man was convicted at trial of murder and other crimes for his participation in a botched home invasion in South Richmond Hill that resulted in the death of a 20-year-old man in November 2016, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Jose Pichardo, 27, on Creston Avenue in the Bronx, was found guilty Monday, Oct. 4 of murder and two counts of burglary. Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise, who presided over the trial, set Pichardo’s sentencing for Oct. 26, when he faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
According to trial records, at approximately 2 a.m. on Nov. 30, 2016, Pichardo along with three others allegedly entered a home on 110th Street in South Richmond Hill. 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, according to Katz.
Moses pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced in September 2020 to 21 years in prison. Pichardo’s brother John Pichardo pleaded guilty to burglary and was sentenced in July 2020 to 15 years in prison.
“Following a nearly two-week-long trial, a jury found this defendant guilty of murder in the death of a young man, who was playing video games when he was suddenly attacked in a friend’s home,” Katz said. “This defendant participated in a horrible act of violence. Now he faces a lengthy term of incarceration when sentenced by the court.”
The cases against the fourth and fifth defendants are pending.
