A Corona man who admitted he viciously stabbed his girlfriend to death in 2020, was sentenced to 24 years in prison Monday.
Edwin Sarmiento, 31, pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter for fatally stabbing 30-year-old Juliet Ximena Galindo Puentes at their Van Cleef Street apartment during an argument.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said on Feb. 8, 2020, shortly after 4 a.m. Sarmiento and the victim argued inside the bedroom of the Corona residence they shared. The heated exchange turned violent when Sarmiento grabbed a knife and stabbed his girlfriend numerous times. Sarmiento then went to the kitchen for an even bigger knife, broke down a door to access where the victim attempted to hide and continued to stab her repeatedly. Sarmiento then fled the apartment.
He was arrested a short time afterward at a nearby gas station in blood-soaked clothes, carrying a bag filled with money, phones, passports and other belongings, according to Katz. EMS rushed Galindo Puentes to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
“The defendant showed no mercy when he grabbed multiple knives and plunged them into the body of this defenseless woman,” Katz said. “With this last step in our judicial process, the defendant has been sentenced by the court, giving the family of the victim closure.”
Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder ordered Sarmiento to be incarcerated for 24 years, to be followed by five years of post-release supervision.
