A South End man today admitted stabbing a single father to death, accepting a lengthy state prison sentence rather than face trial for plunging a knife into Yiovany Gazmey’s chest in a fight sparked by their brawling girlfriends in Roxbury last year, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced.

JUAN RAMIREZ (D.O.B. 9/9/82) pleaded guilty to the crime of manslaughter for stabbing Gazmey nine times, including once in the heart, then tossing the knife on Washington Street and fleeing the scene on a Silver Line bus. Suffolk Superior Court Judge Frank Gaziano sentenced him to a term of 10 to 11 years in state prison.

Four members of Gazmey’s family addressed the court prior to sentencing, but it was the slain man’s son – 16-year-old Yiovany Gazmey, Jr. – who brought spectators to tears with an impact statement delivered in Spanish and translated by a court interpreter.

Speaking at first softly and then with strength, the boy wiped his eyes and told the court of the pain he experienced when he saw other young people with their mothers and fathers at dances and other events.

“Everybody is with their parents, and I look off to the sides and mine are not there,” he said through the translator. “And I wonder why a child of God kills another child of God …. When I sleep, I pray to God to allow me to dream of my father and mother, to see them and tell them how much I love them and miss them.”

Conley said he was moved by the boy’s words.

“For a child of that age to lose his father to violence after the death of his mother is just heartbreaking,” he said. “If there’s any consolation it’s that he’s clearly a young man of great moral and emotional strength. He has a family that adores him and will care for him in the years to come. He’ll always remember, though, that someone took his father from him.”

The boy’s aunt and victim’s sister, Joanna Gazmey, spoke in English.

“My brother will never get to open his eyes again, feel the gentleness of the breeze against his skin, walk his daughter down the aisle, even play with his first grandson or be there for any of us,” she said. “All that is left of him are his ashes, [which] my mom holds onto dearly.”

Gazmey’s mother, Trinidad Marrero, spoke through the court interpreter.

“Ever since my son’s death, my life has changed and sadness has invaded my heart,” she said. “One year and five months has passed since criminal hands took away his life,” she continued through tears. “Now all I ask of God is to give me the resignation to be able to accept his death that until this moment I have been unable to accept.”

Addressing the defendant, she said, “Deep in my heart I have already forgiven you. I hope God has mercy on your soul.”

The victim’s daughter addressed the court last.

“I just wanted to say that this really impacted our family and every day we miss my dad and my grandmother is not the same person she was before this happened,” she said. “All she feels day and day out is pain in her heart.”

Had the case proceeded to trial, Assistant District Attorney Masai King would have demonstrated that Ramirez and his girlfriend, AIDA RODRIGUEZ (D.O.B. 2/16/79) of Revere, were on Washington Street in Roxbury that afternoon when they crossed paths with Gazmey and his girlfriend, MARITZA GIRAUD (D.O.B. 7/4/63).

King would have introduced evidence and testimony to prove that Giraud and Rodriguez knew each other and became engaged in a verbal argument as they approached the corner of Melnea Cass Boulevard. The argument soon turned violent, with both women punching each other. Giraud had her keys in her hand as she struck Rodriguez, and Rodriguez was using what King described as “an unknown weapon.”

When it appeared that Giraud was winning the fight, Ramirez stepped in and pushed her away from his girlfriend, Rodriguez.

This jumpstarted a fistfight between the two men, which “lasted under one minute,” King said. Evidence and testimony would have proven that Ramirez used a folding knife to stab Gazmey nine times in his chest, flank, and back. An autopsy later revealed that one of the wounds pierced his lung.

After the stabbing, Ramirez and Rodriguez fled the scene while Gazmey lay wounded on the sidewalk. Boston Police responded to the area and found Gazmey in grave condition. He was transported to Boston Medical Center where he later died of his wounds.

Ramirez and Rodriguez began to walk quickly up Washington Street, where evidence would have shown that he threw the murder weapon up and over a one story building before he and his girlfriend boarded a Silver Line bus without paying.

Rodriguez sustained visible injuries during the altercation and Ramirez’ hands were covered in blood; when passengers offered to seek help for their injuries, the two declined. Boston Police officers soon stopped and boarded the bus, where Ramirez allegedly said, “It’s me you’re looking for.”

In the search of the area that followed, Boston Police recovered a knife from the area in which witnesses had seen him throw something. Meanwhile, at the hospital, medical personnel recovered another knife from the victim’s pocket.

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

Ramirez was represented by attorney James Greenberg.