Erick Sarceno, 25, of Trenton pleaded guilty in November for his role in the 2014 killing of Jeronimo Villatoro, 38, of Trenton.
BUCKS COUNTY, Pa. -- A Trenton man who watched and did not stop the vicious beating death of another Trenton man in Morrisville, Pa. was sentenced to prison last week, officials said.
Erick Sarceno, 25, pleaded guilty in November to voluntary manslaughter, possession of an instrument of crime and concealing evidence for his role in the Oct. 19, 2014, death of Jeronimo Villatoro, 38, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office announced.
Erick Sarceno Last Friday, a judge sentenced Sarceno to seven to 20 years in state prison, the office said.
"This was a brutal and violent murder," Bucks County Judge Rea B. Boylan said before imposing the sentence. "I have never seen more damage done to the head of a human being" in any criminal case she has heard, the office's statement said.
Sarceno never touched the victim, but the judge said: "Mr. Sarceno was a participant in this act."
Without Sarceno's involvement, "Jeronimo Villatoro would still be alive today," added Deputy Bucks District Attorney Robert James, the lead prosecutor.
The Bucks County Courier Times reported in 2014 that the men, all living in Trenton and working for a landscaping business, drove to Bucks County in a work van that belonged to Sarceno's boss. And they had been drinking together at an illegal Trenton bar.
During the ride, occupant Juan Antonio Villeda, 35, argued with the victim while Sarceno drove. Villeda and Villatoro then exited the van and fought on a Morrisville street, the district attorney's office said.
Villeda beat Villatoro with a crowbar and stabbed him with a screwdriver, the office said.
In November, Villeda pleaded no contest to third-degree murder, ending a three-day trial, the district attorney's office said. He is scheduled to be sentenced in May.
Sarceno testified against Villeda during the trial, the office said.
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Prosecutor's said while Sarceno did not physically assault Villatoro, he witnessed the attack and drove away with Villeda after the initial fight.
At Villeda's direction, Sarceno then drove back to the scene, where Villatoro lay helpless, and watched again as Villeda attacked Villatoro again, killing him.
Sarceno put the crowbar Villeda used back in the van and drove away a second time, the district attorney's office said.
James read a letter in court written by Villatoro's sister, who described her brother as a hardworking man who sent $300 each month to help support his mother and their family in their native Honduras, the statement said.
Defense attorney Niels Eriksen said that Sarceno is the eldest of six children and also worked hard, sending money to his siblings in Guatemala.
Eriksen said that Sarceno failed to stop the assault and initially lied to investigators before cooperating because he'd been so intimidated by Villeda, who was his mother's boyfriend at the time, the statement said.
Sarceno, through an interpreter, told the judge he was present for the killing, but said, "I did not know what was going to happen."
Judge Boylan said she "heard nothing to suggest that (Sarceno) was coerced into doing these things" and was troubled that he minimized his role in the crime.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.