An Elizabeth man has been convicted of stabbing another man following an argument in a bar nearly two years ago, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park announced Friday.
A Union County jury found Jonathan Ramos-Piedrahita, 32, guilty of second-degree aggravated assault, third-degree aggravated assault, and third- and fourth-degree weapons offenses following a nearly two-week trial before state Superior Court Judge Regina Caulfield.
It was approximately 2 a.m. on August 4, 2013 when Ramos-Piedrahita and another patron at the New Station House Bar & Grill on the 200 block of Morris Avenue in Elizabeth got into an argument over a woman, according to Union County Assistant Prosecutor Peter Benza, who prosecuted the case. Ramos-Piedrahita subsequently produced a knife, stabbed the other patron, and fled the scene, Benza said.
The victim was not seriously injured. Ramos-Piedrahita was stopped by police moments later, after which he was identified by the victim and two other bar patrons. The knife used in the stabbing later was recovered from Ramos Piedrahita’s car.
Sentencing in the case has been scheduled for June 26.
Convictions on second-degree crimes typically carry penalties of five to 10 years in state prison, and due to the provisions of New Jersey’s No Early Release Act, Ramos-Piedrahita is expected to be ordered to serve at least 85 percent of his term before the possibility of parole.