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Man gets 10 years for manslaughter in Roxbury slaying

E-mail|Link|Comments () August 12, 2009 07:10 PM

By Abbie Ruzicka, Globe Correspondent

A South End man admitted today that he fatally stabbed a single father in Roxbury last year during a fight sparked by their girlfriends, Suffolk County prosecutors said.

Juan Ramirez, 26, pleaded guilty to manslaughter for stabbing Yiovany Gazmey, 37, of Boston, said Suffolk district attorney's spokesman Jake Wark. Ramirez was sentenced by Suffolk Superior Court Judge Frank Gaziano to 10 to 11 years in state prison.

Ramirez and his girlfriend, Aida Rodriguez, 30, of Revere, crossed paths with Gazmey and his girlfriend, Maritza Giraud, 46, on Washington Street in Roxbury on March 7, 2008, Wark said.

The two women, who knew each other prior to the meeting, argued as they approached the corner of Melnea Cass Boulebard, Wark said. When the argument between the two turned violent, Ramirez stepped in and pushed Giraud away from his girlfriend, which instigated a fight between the two men, Wark said. Ramirez used a folding knife to stab Gazmey nine times in the chest, side, and back. An autopsy later revealed that one of the wounds pierced his lung, Wark said.

Rodriguez and Giraud are both charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for their roles in the fight, Wark said. They are both slated to return to Suffolk Superior Court for a pre-trial conference on Sept. 3.