Jeff Goldman
A 25-year-old who stabbed another man to death in the parking lot of an Elizabeth nightclub was sentenced Friday to 52 years in prison.
Rosendo Salomon Gomez-Serpa, an undocumented immigrant who was staying in Elizabeth, will be required to spend almost 49 years locked up before he is eligible for parole, the Union County Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement.
Gomez-Serpas, 25, attacked Mario Ortiz, 30, of Elizabeth, in the parking lot of the Imperial Latino Lounge after the two argued around 4 a.m. on April 9, 2016, officials said.
The altercation began inside the club and spilled out into the parking area. Gomez-Serpas pulled out a knife and stabbed Ortiz five times including a fatal strike to his chest, authorities said.
Most of the fight, including the stabbing, was caught on nearby surveillance cameras and the footage was played during the three-week trial. Ortiz’s blood was also found on a hat Gomez-Serpas was wearing when he was arrested 10 hours after the incident, and inside his vehicle.
Authorities in Arizona charged Gomez-Serpas with alien inadmissibility in 2012 and deported him to Guatemala. It’s unclear when or how Gomez-Serpas reentered the United States.
Gomez-Serpa was convicted of murder and two weapons offenses during a trial that ended in February.
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