A Connecticut man has admitted fatally shooting an acquaintance who had recently become a father following an argument in Yonkers five years ago.
Claismar Abreu-Then, 32, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder Thursday, Sept. 24, in Westchester County Court, after the prosecution offered him a sentence of 20 years to life for the Jan. 17, 2021, killing of Joseph Pichardo.
Pichardo, 24, was shot multiple times that night in the first floor hallway of 54 Fairview St.
Following his arrest at his Hartford home days after the killing, Abreu-Then spent three years in a state psychiatric facility after he was deemed incompetent to proceed in the criminal case.
His competency was restored in July 2024 and Abreu-Then has been at the county jail ever since.
Defense lawyer Jessica Hugel confirmed for state Supreme Court Justice James McCarty that she was comfortable that Abreu-Then understood the proceedings and was fit to make a plea in the case.
McCarty accepted the plea and said he would go along with the prosecution's offer. He scheduled sentencing for Jan. 14, 2027.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Guilty plea in 2021 fatal shooting of new father in Yonkers
