Man Pleads Guilty In Lansdowne Pub Death
BOSTON (CBS) – A South Boston man has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of a 23-year-old at a Boston bar.
Hector Guardiola, 26, of South Boston admitted to throwing a glass in the Lansdowne Pub, that shattered and killed 23-year-old Michael DiMaria. A piece of the glass slashed DiMaria's throat.
The incident happened just after midnight on August 14, 2010. Guardiola also pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for injuries to two others struck the glass or its shards.
WBZ-TV's Christina Hager reports
According to the District Attorney's office, Guardiola and a female friend were at the bar as were DiMaria and a group of his friends. When Guardiola was leaving he got involved in a confrontation with someone in DiMaria's group.
Guardiola then picked up a heavy glass and threw it at the person's head. The glass missed, and hit another man in the back of the head. The glass broke and two shards hit a woman in the forehead and neck.
Another jagged portion of the glass hit DiMaria's neck and shredded his jugular vein.
Guardiola was detained by bar staff until Boston Police arrived.
DiMaria was not involved in the fight, but happened to be standing nearby. He was in Boston from his home in Long Island, visiting friends from college.
His family gave emotional testimony at his sentencing hearing. "I wish you the same pain you have caused us many times over. May you think of Michael every day," said his sister, Jennifer Mastronardi.
His father says the manslaughter charge is not enough. "Michael was, in our thinking, in our life, Michael was murdered by this guy."
Guardiola was given a sentence of four to seven years in prison. His attorney says he never meant to kill anyone, and that he's sincerely remorseful.
"Someday the defendant will get out and go on with his life, and we'll still be visiting Michael in the cemetery," said his father, Joseph DiMaria.
"There is no question that this defendant's violent, reckless behavior caused Mr. DiMaria's death," District Attorney Dan Conley said. "All that he was to his family and loved ones, all that he could have given them and the world around him, ended because of that decision."
WBZ-TV's Christina Hager contributed to this report.
